Roberts: Lincoln's ties to Idaho run deep

Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. said Abraham Lincoln and the University of Idaho College of Law have a lot in common.

He said most Americans are not aware of Lincoln's ties to Idaho, despite the fact that he was the president who signed Idaho Territory into being.

Lincoln also signed the Morrill Act establishing the nation's land-grant colleges, of which the UI is one.

"Lincoln's attention to Idaho during this era is truly remarkable, especially given everything else he had to contend with," Roberts told an overflow audience at the University of Idaho's Student Union Building ballroom Friday afternoon. "Lincoln's interest in Idaho continued up until his very tragic death."

About 900 people filled the ballroom to hear Roberts deliver the 13th annual Sherman J. Bellwood Memorial Lecture. Another 300 crammed into the two overflow rooms, and plenty more were turned away at the door.

Roberts used his platform to discuss Lincoln's impact on Idaho and the legal profession, and to urge future College of Law graduates to spend time doing public service.

This year's lecture coincides with the law school's centennial, a fact expounded upon by Roberts during his speech.

"In 1909 when the College of Law was established, our nation celebrated an important centennial of its own," Roberts said, adding that Lincoln was born in February 1809.

He focused much of the lecture on Lincoln's legal abilities, as the Bellwood lecture series is organized through the UI College of Law.

Roberts told several stories, including one in which Lincoln was asked to represent a man who was suing a widow with six children for $600.

Lincoln refused, telling the man that he probably had legal basis for his claim, but that he'd recommend finding a different way to gain $600.

"You must remember that some things that are legally right are not morally right," Lincoln told the man.

In another story, Lincoln was asked to help a man recover $5 from a friend to teach him a lesson about borrowing money. Lincoln agreed, charging the man $10 up front. He then gave $5 to the debtor to pay back his friend and kept the rest.

Roberts told the crowd Lincoln's greatest infirmity as a lawyer was his "irrepressible desire to do what is right."

That desire can sometimes be more difficult to fulfill as a Supreme Court justice.

"If you're talking about what is morally just and right, that is not my job. My job is to apply the Constitution," Roberts told an audience member who asked about justice.

He added that he personally thinks burning the American flag is "horrible" and shouldn't be allowed, but as chief justice would support someone's right to do so under the First Amendment.

"We don't decide questions, we decide who gets to decide those questions," he said.

He closed by telling the audience that like Lincoln, the UI College of Law realizes its full potential for greatness through public service, and urged future graduates to do the same.

Roberts took office in 2005 after having been nominated for the position by George W. Bush. He was the fifth Supreme Court justice to deliver the Bellwood lecture, and the first sitting chief justice.

California lawyer claims Obama is 'illegitimate'

Friday's Sherman J. Bellwood Lecture at the University of Idaho veered off track only momentarily when a California lawyer attempted to present a petition she'd assembled for Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr.

"I want you to be aware of some illegal activity that is going on in the Supreme Court of the United States," Olry Taitz told the crowd during a question-and-answer session. "Barack Hussein Obama is totally illegitimate for (the) presidency."

Taitz said she believed Obama to be a "foreign national" and accused the Supreme Court of sabotaging her attempts to present her case.

She told Roberts she flew thousands of miles to present him a petition with hundreds of signatures asking the Supreme Court to allow her to proceed with her case.

Roberts cut her off, saying he was unable to discuss any specific issues or cases, and invited her to leave the documents with any member of his security detail.

Halley Griffin can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, or by e-mail at hgriffin@dnews.com.