The City of Jamestown will host a high-profile visitor this spring. Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts will give a public address at the Robert H. Jackson center on May 17.
As chief judge of the Supreme Court and the head of the federal court system, Roberts is the nation's highest-ranking judicial officer. The Buffalo native was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005.
"This extraordinary event will be tailored to make history come alive for area students, helping them gain a better understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the role of the judiciary in our federal system of government,” said James C. Johnson, President and CEO of the Jackson Center.
This is the second im in a decade the Chief Justice of the United States will be paying a visit to the City of Jamestown.
"And the reason for that is it happens to be the 10th anniversary of when Chief Justice Roberts as a law clerk worked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist [who] dedicated the facility of the Robert H. Jackson Center, noteworthy in that Chief Justice Rehnquist was a law clerk to Robert H. Jackson," said Gregory Peterson, co-founder of the Jackson Center.
The center's mission is to advance the ideals of Jackson, a former Jamestown area lawyer who served on the Supreme Court and led the prosecution of Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials after World War II.
Congress recently recognized Jackson's contributions to federal and international law by naming Buffalo's new federal courthouse in his honor. Peterson says the visit by Chief Justice Roberts gives the Jackson Center a great deal of credibility.
"Anytime you get an opportunity where you can have the number one member of the judiciary come to the Center to tip the hat to Justice Robert Jackson it really is an honor," said Peterson.
Peterson says Roberts will speak to a crowd of people, expected to be in thousands, from the porch of the Center and his address will be carried in classrooms across the region.
Roberts's 10 a.m. address will be open to the public.