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" Allegations that the government has been arming or masterminding militias known as the janjaweed are absolutely false , " al-Mardi said.He said armed groups of mostly Arab tribesmen in the region were part of regular army forces , not militia , but conceded that " maybe other people misrepresent themselves by wearing police or army uniforms to commit crimes . Both now are careful not to talk about current issues before the court ; in 2004 , Scalia recused himself from a decision on the constitutionality of the phrase " under God " in the Pledge of Allegiance , after speaking out on the case at a rally in Virginia.Such considerations are an important part of a judge 's impartiality but also underscore a justice 's privilege to answer only questions that are welcome.So Ginsburg in September was abrupt when Wallace attempted to ask her about one of the court 's most enduringly controversial subjects . The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist took a powerful sedative during his first decade on the Supreme Court and grew so dependent on it that he became delusional and tried to escape from a hospital in his pajamas when he stopped taking the drug in 1981 , according to newly released FBI files.The files also show that during both of Rehnquist 's confirmation battles - - when he was first named to the court by President Richard Nixon in 1971 and when President Ronald Reagan nominated him as chief justice in 1986 - - the Justice Department enlisted the FBI to find out what witnesses lined up by Senate Democrats were prepared to say . " When Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly holds meetings at mosques , Yildirim is right there at his side , fussing with the microphone and supplying the bottle of water . Two hours of oral argument on a federal " partial birth " abortion ban at the Supreme Court yesterday showed that the justices are intensely focused on the procedure 's medical details and health implications - - but produced few clues as to how they might rule.As expected , the court 's four most liberal members , Justices John Paul Stevens , David H. Souter , Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer , sounded skeptical about the statute .