William Rehnquist, the long-serving US chief justice, failed to announce his resignation as the Supreme Court went into recess until October 3, confounding for the moment speculation he would step down. However, he may yet announce his departure.

Speculation had mounted at the weekend over the possible retirement of the 80-year-old Mr Rehnquist, who is suffering from thyroid cancer. Lobbyist from left and right launched pre-emptive strikes, even though they did not know whether the chief justice intended to resign on Monday, later in the week, or not at all.