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U.S. Supreme Court

For nominee, a day to meet, greet

Senators welcome John G. Roberts Jr. on his first full day in the political limelight as interest groups gear up for a fight.

By WES ALLISON and BILL ADAIR
Published July 21, 2005

WASHINGTON - At a time when the U.S. Senate routinely greets judicial nominees with terms like "nuclear option" and Democrats assail the president's choices as right-wing ideologues, his new Supreme Court nominee received an unusually cozy welcome Wednesday on Capitol Hill, and one that was surprisingly subdued.

But the circumspection and polite discourse about John G. Roberts Jr. ended at the Senate steps, with abortion rights activists marching outside the Supreme Court and various interest groups ramping up their campaigns to glorify or vilify the nominee.

Roberts met with Senate leaders and faced the usual caveats - questions to answer, records to examine - but the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee predicted confirmation by early fall.

The Senate Democratic leader smiled and shook Roberts' hand, and lauded his impressive legal credentials.

Even New York Sen. Charles Schumer, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who has led Democratic opposition to several recent judicial nominees and who initially opposed Roberts' appointment to a U.S. appeals court in 2003, said he's keeping an open mind.

Though some have expressed concerns about Roberts' conservative ideology, Schumer said that none of his 43 Democratic colleagues had decided publicly to oppose or support him.

"At the end of the day, we'd like to be able to support this nominee," Schumer said.

Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who greeted Roberts on the Capitol steps, called him one of the nation's "best legal minds."

Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., told him that his "committee is ready to go," probably in early September, and promised "dignified hearings (but) extensive hearings."

"There will be many questions which will be raised, but based on Judge Roberts' qualifications, my instinct is that he will have the answers," he said.

Roberts thanked them. "I appreciate and respect the constitutional role of the Senate in the appointment process."

He used the same words when he met later with Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"I look forward to having some lawyer-to-lawyer talk," Reid told him as they shook hands in Reid's office.

Not everyone was so genteel. Early Wednesday morning, activists with the National Organization for Women and other abortion rights groups marched first outside the Supreme Court, then outside the Senate.

While serving as deputy solicitor general under former President George Bush, Roberts helped write a brief that said the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade ruling should be reversed. He later said he believed Roe was the settled law of the land.

About 35 women outside the Capitol chanted, "Ho ho, hey hey, abortion rights are here to stay."

Progress for America, a conservative group with close ties to the White House, launched a $1-million ad campaign supporting Roberts' nomination and pledged to spend $17-million more.

The TV ads mention Roberts' good grades at Harvard and his unanimous approval to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2003.

"Colleagues call him brilliant and praise his integrity and fair-mindedness," the announcer says.

"Urge the Senate to give John Roberts a fair up or down vote."

Activists on both sides compared him - with dismay or pleasure, depending on viewpoint - to Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, two staunch conservatives. Two influential evangelical leaders, James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, urged members to call their senators demand confirmation.

Perkins and Dobson acknowledged that Roberts, a judge for only two years, has a scant record on many issues important to social conservatives, including abortion and gay marriage, but said they believe he will not overstep a judge's bounds.

"What we're looking for is a judge who understands that the role of crafting public policy belongs not in the judiciary, but in the legislative branch," Perkins said.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Roberts has "a conservative judicial philosophy. He is someone who believes in faithfully interpreting our laws and constitution."

Republicans hold 55 of the Senate's 100 seats. Democrats could stall Roberts' confirmation indefinitely with a filibuster, which takes 60 votes to break, but no one is discussing a filibuster.

While most Republican senators spent the day heaping praise on Roberts, most Democrats said little.

"I'm still trying to find out more about him," Florida Sen. Bill Nelson said.

Schumer was one of three Democrats on the judiciary committee who initially opposed his nomination to the appeals court, citing Roberts' refusal to answer questions about previous Supreme Court rulings.

Schumer planned to meet with him today, and he pledged to tell him the sorts of questions he'll face during confirmation hearings. "This is not a game of gotcha," he said.

He also indicated he would seek internal memos Roberts may have written while he served as deputy solicitor general, but the Bush administration has fought similar requests for other nominees.

Specter also indicated he would try to limit questions about how Roberts might have ruled on key cases, including Roe vs. Wade.

"If he has said that (Roe) is settled law, it would be relevant to confirm that," said Specter, who favors legal abortion.

"If the question is asked in the context of, "Are you going to uphold Roe,' I think that crosses the line."

[Last modified July 21, 2005, 00:57:10]