ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist was taken to an Arlington, Va., hospital with a fever Thursday.
The 80-year-old Rehnquist has thyroid cancer. It is normal for cancer patients to be evaluated, as a precaution, when they have a fever.
The New York Times reported Rehnquist went home Thursday evening. He was at work at the Supreme Court Thursday when he was taken to Virginia Hospital Center -- the same hospital where he was admitted for observation and tests on July 13.
Rehnquist had a tracheotomy in October to aid his breathing and was kept from five months of oral arguments for cancer treatment, although he participated in court business throughout that period. He has been chief justice for nearly 20 years and was first put on the court in 1972.
His health, and whether it would force him to retire from the court, has been the subject of speculation since the court's term ended last month.
President George W. Bush last month nominated U.S. District Judge John Roberts to replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has announced she will leave the court once a replacement for her is found.
