U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts arrives for the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, in Washington, January 20, 2009.
After a flubbed swearing in ceremony-in 2009, President Obama is giving Chief Justice John Roberts a chance to redeem himself. Roberts will deliver the 35-word oath of office to Obama when he is sworn in for a second term, a role Obama handpicked him for — the president gets to choose who delivers the oath written in the Constitution, though the chief justice has traditionally taken on the duty.
At Obama’s first inauguration ceremony, there were a number of awkward moments during the very short oath. Obama interrupted Roberts, then Roberts said part of the oath wrong. This time he’ll get a rehearsal of sorts, without the eye of the public trained on him: he’ll deliver the official oath on Sunday, Jan. 20 at a small White House ceremony to fulfill the swearing-in date set in the Constitution. But since courts and federal offices are closed on Sundays, the public, ceremonial swearing-in will be held on Monday, Jan. 21, when Roberts will perform the duty again.