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Roberts Grilled on Voting Rights Act
Roberts Testifies Roe v. Wade is "Settled As a Precedent"
But Refuses to Say Whether He Would Reverse Abortion Ruling
Texas Death Row Prisoner Scheduled to Die Today: Lawyers
Seek Last-Minute Stay
Roberts Grilled on Voting Rights Act
Chief Justice nominee John Roberts was grilled on a number
of contentious issues on the second day of his Senate confirmation
hearing, including abortion, civil rights, women's rights
and education. We play excerpts of the hearing. [includes
rush
transcript]
Chief Justice nominee John Roberts declined to say on Tuesday
if he would reverse the long-standing decision legalizing
abortion, but said he believed the Constitution accorded Americans
the right to privacy, which is the key underpinning of Roe
v. Wade.
Roberts' comments came on the second day of his confirmation
hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
While Roberts said the 1973 landmark ruling was "settled
as precedent," he declined to answer specific questions
about abortion.
During more than 10 hours of questioning, Roberts also refused
to answer specific questions about voting rights, civil rights
and other issues, citing cases he could face on the high court.
Tuesday's hearings provided Senators their first chance to
publicly confront Roberts since President Bush announced his
nomination in July. Each committee member was allotted 30
minutes for questions. A second round of questioning is scheduled
for today. On Thursday, friends and experts are scheduled
to testify about Roberts' character and qualifications.
The Judiciary Committee is expected to vote by the end of
next week and the full Senate is scheduled to vote by the
end of the month. If confirmed, Roberts would take over leadership
of the court when its session begins October 3rd.
Today we spend the hour playing excerpts from Tuesday's hearing.
A little later in the program we will take a look at John
Roberts" comments on abortion with Kim Gandy, the president
of the National Organization of Women, but we begin with another
contentious issue during the hearing - civil rights.
- Sen. Edward Kennedy (D - Massachusetts), speaking at
chief justice confirmation hearing, September 13, 2005.
- Sen. Russ Feingold (D - Wisconsin), questioning Chief
Justice nominee John Roberts, September 13, 2005.
Roberts Testifies Roe v. Wade is "Settled As
a Precedent" But Refuses to Say Whether He Would Reverse
Abortion Ruling
Chief Justice nominee John Roberts declined to say on Tuesday
if he would reverse the long-standing decision legalizing
abortion, but said he believed the Constitution accorded Americans
the right to privacy, which is the key underpinning of Roe
v. Wade. We speak with the president of the National Organization
for Women. [includes rush
transcript]
Reproductive rights was one of the central issues during
the confirmation hearing of John Roberts to be United States
chief justice. Roberts' testified that Roe v. Wade, the 1973
landmark ruling legalizing abortion, is "settled as a
precedent of the court, entitled to respect under principles
of stare decisis.
Stare decisis is Latin for "to stand by a decision"
and legally translates into the doctrine that says courts
are bound by previous decisions, or precedents, particularly
when a case has been decided by a higher court.
Roberts answered questions about abortion through the prism
of legal precedent. He affirmed a right to privacy - the key
underpinning of Roe v. Wade, but declined to answer specifically
if he would reverse the ruling.
The hearings also focused on a 1992 Supreme Court ruling
in Casey v. Planned Parenthood. In that case, the Supreme
Court voted 5-4 to uphold the core holdings of Roe v. Wade
and ban states from outlawing most abortions.
The Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Pennsylvania
Senator Arlen Specter, opened yesterday's hearing. Specter
is a moderate Republican who is pro-choice. He angered some
within his party's leadership last November when he hinted
that he may block judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade -
a move that almost cost him the chair of the panel.
- Sen. Arlen Specter (R - Pennsylvania), Chair of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, questioning Chief Justice nominee John
Roberts, September 13, 2005.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California also grilled
John Roberts about his views on Roe v. Wade and a number of
other women's issues. At one point she directly asked him
if the right to privacy extends to making personal decisions
around the beginning and end of life.
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D - California), questioning Chief
Justice nominee John Roberts, September 13, 2005.
We go to Washington DC to speak with Kim Gandy, president
of the National Organization of Women.
Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin asked questions about
a range of civil liberty issues. He asked if Roberts thought
that the nation would regret any of the laws passed in the
wake of September 11th.
- Sen. Russ Feingold (D - Wisconsin), questioning Chief
Justice nominee John Roberts, September 13, 2005.
Texas Death Row Prisoner Scheduled to Die Today:
Lawyers Seek Last-Minute Stay
Frances Newton, death row prisoner in Texas, is scheduled
to be executed later today but lawyers are seeking a last-minute
stay on her execution. We speak to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson
Lee (D - Texas) and an anti-death penalty activist about the
case.
In Texas, lawyers for death row prisoner Frances Newton
are seeking a last-minute stay on her execution. She is scheduled
to be killed later today. On Tuesday Congresswoman Sheila
Jackson Lee held a press conference to urge Governor Rick
Perry to stay the execution. On Monday one of the state's
main newspapers – the Austin American Stateman –
came out in support of a new trial for Newton. The paper's
editors wrote “The public cannot be certain of her guilt,
but she's going to die for the crime anyway. Newton was denied
a basic requirement for a fair trial - a competent lawyer.”
Newton would be the 13th prisoner executed this year in Texas.
She will be the first African-American woman killed in Texas
since Reconstruction.
- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, (D-Texas)
- Gloria Rubac, longtime death penalty and co-founder of
the website Freefrances.org.
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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