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 News from Around the Americas | September 2005 
Roberts Wins Senate Panel Backing
 Thomas Ferraro - Reuters
| | Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. |
Washington - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday brushed aside concerns of divided Democrats and backed President George W. Bush's nomination of conservative John Roberts to be chief justice of the United States.
On a vote of 13-5, the panel recommended confirmation of Roberts to lead the U.S. Supreme Court by the full Republican-led Senate, which appears certain to do so next week -- perhaps shortly before Bush offers a second Supreme Court nominee who is likely to face a much tougher fight.
Confirmation by the Senate next week would enable Roberts to take his seat before the court begins its new term on October 3.
Roberts, 50, a federal appeals judge the past two years, would be the youngest chief justice in two centuries.
In the lifetime post, Roberts would be positioned to lead the judicial branch of the U.S. government for decades, helping shape the American way of life on matters from workers' rights to environmental protection.
Reflecting Roberts' Senate support as well as division among Democrats, three of the eight Democrats on the committee joined all of the panel's 10 Republicans in voting for him.
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a veteran of many battles over Supreme Court nominees the past three decades, voted for Roberts, saying: "He's the best I've seen -- and that's really saying something because some of the others have been absolutely tremendous."
Republicans hailed Roberts as a stellar legal mind who preaches strict adherence to the U.S. Constitution. They also noted that the American Bar Association gave him its top rating for a seat on the high court.
Democrats acknowledged Roberts' academic credentials, but some questioned whether his heart was as big as his intellect.
"Based on the record available, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Judge Roberts's view of the rule of law would include as paramount the protection of basic rights," said Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who voted against the nominee.
Democrats voiced concerns about Roberts' commitment to civil rights and women's rights, based largely on memos he wrote as a young attorney two decades ago in the Reagan administration.
They also complained about his refusal at his confirmation hearing to disclose how he might rule on some hot-button legal issues, such as abortion rights.
Roberts argued it would be improper to prejudge cases that might become before him, and said the old memos reflected the opinions of a conservative Republican administration, not necessarily his own.
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, backed the nominee, saying, "Judge Roberts is a man of integrity. I take him at his word that he does not have an ideological agenda."
Chairman Arlen Specter, a moderate Pennsylvania Republican, hailed Roberts as a potential consensus builder on the often divided high court, but noted that like previous Supreme Court nominees it's an open question what he will do on the bench.
"His approach of modesty, of stability, and away from judicial activism, I think, is a model," Specter said. "Whether it is carried out, remains to be seen."
Roberts would replace the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who had been the court's conservative anchor for 33 years.
The next nominee would seek to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who often has been the swing vote on the bitterly divided nine-member court.
With the balance of the court likely at stake, there have been competing strategies about how Democrats should handle Roberts. Some argue Democrats should hold their fire for the next nominee.
Others, including major liberal groups, contend Democrats should muster as much opposition as possible to send a message to Bush that in order to avoid a major fight he should send up a noncontroversial nominee. |
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