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Bush Taps Conservative Appeals Court Judge John Roberts For
Supreme Court
Bush Taps Conservative Appeals Court Judge John Roberts
For Supreme Court
President Bush has chosen appeals court judge John Roberts
as his first nominee to the Supreme Court. Roberts is 50 years
old and a solidly conservative Republican who has served in
the administrations of George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan. For
years, he worked as a top corporate attorney before being
appointed in 2003 to serve on the US Court of Appeals for
the DC Circuit, which is widely considered the nation's second-highest
court. We host a roundtable discussion with Nancy Northup,
President of the Center for Reproductive Rights, Gary Marx
of the Judicial Confirmation Network, Ralph Neas of People
for the American Way, Jamin Raskin, author of "Overruling
Democracy" and Art Eisenberg of the New York Civil Liberties
Union. [includes rush
transcript - partial]
President Bush has chosen appeals court judge John Roberts
as his first nominee to the Supreme Court. Roberts is 50 years
old and a solidly conservative Republican who has served in
the administrations of George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan. For
years, he worked as a top corporate attorney before being
appointed in 2003 to serve on the US Court of Appeals for
the DC Circuit, which is widely considered the nation's second-highest
court.
The Los Angeles Times describes Roberts as "a young,
conservative judge with a spotless personal record and a minimal
paper trail."
Justices are lifetime appointees and if confirmed to the
Supreme Court, Roberts could affect major national issues
ranging from abortion to property rights for decades to come.
President Bush made the announcement with Roberts at his side
Tuesday night in a primetime broadcast from the White House.
- President Bush, speaking at the White House, July 19,
2005.
Bush chose Roberts despite pressure from Republicans and
even from his own wife, Laura Bush, that he should name a
woman to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. O'Connor
was considered a swing vote on the closely divided court.
Her retirement earlier this month created the court's first
vacancy in 11 years. After Bush made the announcement, Roberts
stepped to the microphone to accept his nomination.
- Judge John Roberts, Supreme Court Justice nominee, July
19, 2005.
Roberts is a long-time Bush supporter who donated $1,000
dollars to Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. In the Reagan
administration, Roberts was special assistant to the attorney
general and associate counsel to the president. Between 1989
and 1993, he was principal deputy solicitor general, the government's
second highest lawyer, under Kenneth Starr. He has argued
more than three dozen cases before the Supreme Court.
Roberts wrote the government's brief in a 1991 case in which
the Supreme Court held that government could prohibit doctors
and clinics who receive federal funds from discussing abortion
with their patients. In his brief, Roberts wrote: "We
continue to believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and
should be overruled." He also stated that the 1973 Court
decision finds "no support in the text, structure, or
history of the Constitution."
Roberts also co-authored a brief in the Supreme Court on
behalf of the government in support of the anti-choice group
Operation Rescue and six individuals who had obstructed access
to reproductive health care clinics.
Pressed during his 2003 confirmation hearing for his own
views on abortion, Roberts said: "Roe v. Wade is the
settled law of the land. ... There's nothing in my personal
views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying
that precedent."
According to the Boston Globe, Roberts' wife, Jane Sullivan
Roberts, is a lawyer involved with the anti-abortion group
Feminists for Life.
In other cases, Roberts argued that the Supreme Court should
invalidate a federal affirmative action program; that the
Constitution permits religious ceremonies at public high school
graduations; and that environmental groups lacked the right
to sue under the Endangered Species Act.
During his time at the Washington law firm Hogan & Harston,
Roberts practiced telecommunications, energy and other business
law. The Wall Street Journal reports that business leaders
who recently began reviewing records of the White House finalist
list placed Roberts at the top of their candidate list.
Roberts may also have played a key role in the disputed 2000
presidential election. While his name did not appear on any
of the briefs during the Florida recount, three unidentified
sources told the Washington Post Roberts gave Gov. Jeb Bush
critical advice on how the Florida legislature could name
George W. Bush the winner at time when Republicans feared
the courts might force a different choice.
Roberts has only served as an appeals court judge for the
past two years. George HW Bush first nominated Roberts to
the D.C. Circuit in 1992, but his nomination died when Bill
Clinton was elected president. The current president nominated
Roberts again in 2001, but he didn't get a floor vote in the
Senate until 2003.
Roberts was part of a three-judge panel that handed Bush
an important victory last week when it ruled that the military
tribunals of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could
proceed. The decision also found that Bush could deny terrorism
captives prisoner-of-war status as outlined by the Geneva
Conventions.
Roberts will now undergo a background investigation then
his nomination will be considered by the Senate Judiciary
Committee. Committee chairman, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania,
has said he wants to schedule hearings by late August or September.
The court is due to open its next session in October.
Today we spend the hour looking at the nomination of John
Roberts to the Supreme Court:
- Jamin Raskin, American University Law professor and author
of "Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court vs. the
American People."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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