Top US judge treated for cancer

Rehnquist presided over ex-President Clinton's impeachment

US Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist is in hospital after throat surgery for thyroid cancer.

The 80-year-old judge underwent a tracheotomy on Saturday at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, the Supreme Court said in a statement.

He was one of five members of the court who voted to end the 2000 election recount, leading to George Bush's win.

The conservative judge also presided over the impeachment hearings against former President Bill Clinton.

He is expected back on the bench when the country's highest court returns to work on 1 November, the court statement said.

News of his illness will put the issue of Supreme Court appointments back on the presidential election agenda, James Coomarasamy reports from Washington.

He says the appointments are made by the president and are highly political.

The nine-member court is able to take final decisions on issues ranging from the result of a presidential election to a woman's right to have an abortion, he notes.

Several of the serving justices are over 70, so whoever wins the poll on 2 November could appoint up to four new Supreme Court judges during his time in office, our correspondent adds.

Veteran judge

The court statement said Judge Rehnquist had recently been diagnosed with cancer and that he was admitted to the hospital on Friday.

The judge has had a series of health problems, the Associated Press reports.

He has had surgery to repair a torn knee tendon and has struggled with chronic back pain over the years, AP says.

Judge Rehnquist was named to the Supreme Court by President Richard Nixon in 1972 and was elevated to chief justice in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan.

Commentators have speculated that he may retire soon, although he made no mention of stepping down when he turned 80 earlier this month.