U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts kept the crowd at Hill Auditorium engaged and often laughing this morning as he fielded a range of questions - from how Justice Sonia Sotomayor is fitting in on the bench to whether the high court might consider banishing criminals in the future.

Answers:

He admitted getting a newcomer was an unsettling prospect at first. But he says, "She's been on board for a month. I think she's going to be a delightful and wonderful colleague."

As for banishment, "No."

The chief justice was in Ann Arbor today to help the University of Michigan Law School ring in its 150th anniversary. Following a 30-minute conversation on stage with U-M Law School Dean Evan Caminker, the chief justice took questions from the audience for almost 90 minutes. Several queries involved how the court is receiving Sotomayor, the first Latina justice and President Barack Obama's first high-court appointment.

Roberts emphasized the collegial atmosphere among the justices and said it might surprise people since their opinions are often sharply derisive on paper. The chief justice is a relative newcomer himself, joining just over four years ago after being nominated by George W. Bush.

Roberts said it's dramatic when there's a replacement on the way. After all, he and his newest colleague can expect to be working together for a good quarter century.

"(Former justice) David Souter had been on the court for 19 years. And all of a sudden, he's gone," Roberts said.

Roberts jokingly likened himself to a 6-year old child in a family in which one member suddenly goes missing, and a new one is added. "We worry about it a lot," he said, adding that they're, "very comfortable" with Sotomayor.

Only a few of the questions were pointed.

One law student wanted to hear the chief justice's take on what courses should be added to the U-M Law School curriculum. Roberts had dropped in on a few classes on Thursday and said, "This is an area where I have no expertise...Now let me tell you what I think," which drew laughs.

He went on to question, apologetically to those who teach them, the usefulness of any course titled "Law and..." which elicited more laughs, and possibly a few cringes.

Another audience member demanded to know why the Supreme Court doesn't immediately release audio recordings of arguments. According to the Associated Press, the court records arguments, then releases them at the end of each term. Cameras and recorders are banned from the courtroom, but the audio lets the public hear how the justices work.

"At the end of the day," Roberts answered, "it's not our job to educate, it's our job to decide cases."

Roberts' visit also included a 2 p.m. groundbreaking ceremony on the southeast corner of State and Monroe streets for a new law school building, just north of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

The $102 million project includes a new Law School Commons adjoining the Law Quadrangle on the east side and re-facing the siding on the Legal Research Building with stone facing. The plans were approved by the U-M Board of Regents in December 2007; officials said then it marks the first instructional expansion since the Law Quadrangle opened in 1935. However, work on the Law Library was completed in 1981.

According to informational materials, law school resources for the plans include $14 million, the university is contributing $18 million and donors are being tapped for the remaining $70 million.

The Hill Auditorium event and groundbreaking were part of events running Tuesday through Sunday to celebrate the law school's anniversary.

Photo by Angela J. Cesere, AnnArbor.com.

Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528.