[JURIST] US Chief Justice John Roberts [official profile, PDF] named Jeffrey P. Minear [Georgetown University Law Center faculty profile], former senior litigation counsel in the Office of the Solicitor General [official website], as his top aide on Monday. Minear and Roberts worked together for four years at the solicitor general's office and also on the Microsoft antitrust suit. Commenting on his time working alongside Minear, Roberts said in a statement, "I have seen firsthand his strong commitment to the Supreme Court as an institution and his respect for its role in our system of government." In total, Minear has argued 56 cases [list] before the US Supreme Court.

In his new role, Minear will assist with the running and monitoring of judicial issues, including court reform. He will replace current aide Sally M. Rider [Washington Post report], who has been appointed [press release] director of the William H. Rehnquist Center on the Constitutional Structures of Government at the University of Arizona. Minear will assume his new position on September 11th. AP has more.