American Notes Supreme Court

As the Senate began debating Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist's fitness to be Chief Justice, the Arlington, Va., police disclosed that in at least one way Rehnquist is up to speed -- and then some. Two weeks ago police in Arlington clocked him doing 41 in a 30-m.p.h. zone known to locals as a radar trap. Rehnquist, 61, was charged with speeding, failing to have his car's registration in his possession, and failing to have his driver's license updated. He faces $82 in fines.

In the Senate, Democrats led by Edward Kennedy and Joseph Biden reviewed Rehnquist's opposition to desegregation and cited a newly discovered memorandum the Justice wrote in 1970 opposing the Equal Rights Amendment. But only about 30 Senators are committed to blocking the nomination, with several more wavering. Said a Biden aide: "That doesn't add up to 51."