AP News, September 13th, 2007
Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday compared attorneys to firefighters, telling a law school gathering that both have to jump into tough situations to contain problems.
Roberts, who suffered a seizure earlier this summer, looked fit and energetic as he spoke to about 1,000 people at the University of Montana law school event.
Roberts referred to the work of the late author Norman Maclean, who grew up in Missoula and whose book "Young Men and Fire" chronicled the role of firefighters in Montana's deadly Mann Gulch Fire of 1949. Like Maclean, lawyers and judges must sift through mountains of information to find the evidence that really matters, he said.
Roberts noted that both firefighters and lawyers are viewed as "a little bit nuts" and have a strong sense of camaraderie.
"If you are in the law simply to make a living, you are not likely to find it rewarding," he told the audience.
Roberts avoided discussing Supreme Court cases or constitutional issues, saying he had to be careful about what he said.
"Of course, what you would find most interesting is what I can't talk about," he said.
Roberts, 52, suffered a seizure in July, 14 years after a similar episode. The seizure this summer happened while Roberts was on vacation at his summer home in Maine. He has not disclosed details of his diagnosis and treatment or whether he will need medication.
Seizures typically are associated with children, but experts say one in 10 adults will have one at some point. Experts say that a person who has had two seizures runs a significant risk of having a third.
