Another False Rumor: Chief Justice Turns the Table on Law Prof
Chief Justice John G. Roberts told University of Alabama law students on Tuesday that he has an announcement about an impending retirement.
But it wasn’t his own retirement, briefly announced and then retracted by a website last week. The rumor apparently made its way into cyberspace after Georgetown University law professor Peter Tague told his class that Roberts was retiring—a false statement designed to demonstrate the unreliability of evidence. Tague later explained that the statement wasn’t true, but by then the rumor was spreading, Above the Law reported last week.
“I do have to announce something,” Roberts said on Tuesday. “Apparently the professor who said that has been so overwhelmed, he’s decided to leave teaching. I feel sorry about it, but what can you do.”
The Washington Post blog College Inc. noted the statement. “Has Tague, a tenured professor, resigned?” the blog asked. “Was Roberts planting a false rumor about the man who had planted a false rumor about him?”
Evidently, the answer to the second question is yes. The blog contacted the law school. Tague is not leaving.
