The Supreme Court‘s Chief Justice John Roberts named a federal judge as his next chief of staff just days after his former right-hand man retired from the high court.
Judge Robert M. Dow Jr., who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, will take on the post in December, according to the Supreme Court’s Public Information Office.
“I am grateful to Chief Justice Roberts for the opportunity to serve him, the Supreme Court, and the judicial branch in this new role. It is an honor and privilege to succeed Jeffrey Minear following his long and highly successful tenure as Counselor,” Dow, who replaces Jeffrey P. Minear, said in a statement.
JOHN ROBERTS’S CHIEF OF STAFF TO RETIRE AFTER CONTENTIOUS YEAR AT SUPREME COURT
Dow’s responsibilities will include working closely with court officers on policies and initiatives for the high court. The chief of staff also works as a liaison to the executive and legislative branches while working with court executives and judges on matters relating to judicial administration.
“I am pleased that Judge Dow has accepted my invitation to assist this Court and courts across the country in their important work. He is well prepared to take on these new responsibilities, and I look forward to a long and productive relationship,” Roberts said in a statement.
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Dow has been a U.S. district court judge since December 2007 and has held numerous roles in the federal judiciary, including chairman of the Advisory Committee on Circuit Rules for the Seventh Circuit from 2012 to 2018. Before his judgeship, he was a partner at Mayer Brown LLP, where he was a member of the firm’s appellate and Supreme Court and telecommunications practice groups.
Dow’s joining of the high court comes at a time when public confidence in the court’s legitimacy has dwindled drastically since the 6-3 Republican-appointed majority of justices rolled back access to abortion procedures, coupled with what many critics have seen as a “rightward” agenda since former President Donald Trump added three justices to the bench.
