WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- Chief William Rehnquist, absent from the U.S. Supreme Court bench since October with thyroid cancer, presided over the Judicial Conference Tuesday.
The Judicial Conference of the United States, the policy-making body of the federal courts, held its biannual meeting at the U.S. Supreme Court to discuss security in judge's homes, among other topics.
Rehnquist's appearance was greeted with a standing ovation at the beginning of the conference as well as at the end.
One judge who attended the conference said, "He (Rehnquist) was in very good humor."
The 80-year-old chief justice did not use a wheelchair, but moved under his own power and kept the conference busy for two hours without a break. "From my standpoint, this was business as usual," the judge said.
The judge said Rehnquist's speech was good, although he still had a tracheotomy tube in his throat to ease the symptoms of his cancer treatment.
