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By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
38 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - John Glover Roberts Jr., backed by a united Senate Republican majority and about half of a divided Democratic minority, is taking his place as the nation's 17th chief justice, to lead the Supreme Court into the 21st century and through turbulent social issues that will affect generations to come.
Roberts was to be confirmed Thursday by at least 77 senators in the GOP-controlled Senate, or more than three-fourths of the 100-member chamber, as President Bush's selection to replace the late William H. Rehnquist. The 50-year-old U.S. appeals court judge then was to be quickly sworn into his new position at the White House so he could take his seat on Monday in time for the new court session where justices will tackle issues like assisted suicide, campaign finance law and abortion.
The Bush administration wants the Supreme Court to reinstate a national ban on a type of late-term abortion, and the court already has scheduled arguments on whether New Hampshire's parental notification law is unconstitutional because it lacks an exception allowing a minor to have an abortion to protect her health in the event of a medical emergency.
Anti-abortion and abortion rights activists both have their hopes pinned on Roberts, a former government lawyer in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. While Roberts is solidly conservative and his wife, Jane, volunteers for Feminists for Life, both sides were anxious to see how he will vote on abortion cases before the high court.
Roberts told senators during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings that past Supreme Court rulings carry weight, including the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. He also said he agreed with the 1965 Supreme Court ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut that established the right of privacy on the sale and use of contraceptives.
But he tempered that by saying Supreme Court justices can overturn rulings.
During four days of sometimes testy questioning by Democrats, Roberts refused to answer questions that would hint how he'd rule on cases, a position that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called "unquestionably right" at a speech at Wake Forest University on Wednesday.
"If the Constitution says that the little guy should win, then the little guy's going to win in the court before me," Roberts told senators. "But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well then the big guy's going to win because my obligation is to the Constitution."
Over and over, he has assured lawmakers his rulings would be guided by his understanding of the facts of cases, the law and the Constitution, not by his personal views. "My faith and my religious beliefs do not play a role," said Roberts, who is Catholic.
Roberts' confirmation brings the number of Catholics on the court to a historic high of four. The Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes abortion.
All of the Senate's Republicans showered praise on Roberts. "If being intelligent, brilliant, a superb lawyer, the greatest legal mind of your generation and well qualified is not enough, what is?" said Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that recommended his confirmation on a 13-5 vote.
Democrats, even as they complained about his Reagan-era opinions and the White House's refusal to release his paperwork from the George H.W. Bush administration, acknowledged his brilliance and judicial demeanor.
"It is hard to see Judge Roberts as a judicial activist who would place ideological purity or a particular agenda above or ahead the need for thoughtful legal reasoning," said Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., one of the Democrats supporting Roberts.
Added independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who often allies himself with the Democrats: "It is clear Judge Roberts has the necessary legal experience and character to be the chief justice."
Roberts has the potential of leading the Supreme Court for decades. Not since John Marshall, confirmed in 1801 at 45, has there been a younger chief justice. Oliver Ellsworth was 50 — about six weeks from turning 51; and John Jay, the first chief justice, was 44. He served from 1789-1795.
Roberts also will hold a record of sorts — nominated to succeed two different Supreme Court justices within seven weeks. Bush originally named him to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in July. Rehnquist's death led to the second nomination on Sept. 6, and Roberts now will be confirmed as chief justice while O'Connor remains on the court until the president selects a new replacement.
Democrats already were warning the White House not to nominate a conservative ideologue to replace O'Connor. Bush was expected to announce the nominee soon.
"While this nomination did not warrant an attempt to block the nominee on the floor of the Senate, the next one might," Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., said.
Roberts grew up in Long Beach, Ind., working summers in the same steel mill where his father was an electrical engineer and serving as high school class president and captain of the football team.
After graduating with honors from Harvard University — both as an undergraduate and in law school — he clerked for Rehnquist when he was an associate justice on the Supreme Court and later worked as a prominent lawyer and judge in Washington. He argued 39 cases in front of the Supreme Court, and was considered one of the nation's best appellate lawyers before being tapped for the federal appeals court.
___
On the Net:
Senate: http://www.senate.gov
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov
38 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - John Glover Roberts Jr., backed by a united Senate Republican majority and about half of a divided Democratic minority, is taking his place as the nation's 17th chief justice, to lead the Supreme Court into the 21st century and through turbulent social issues that will affect generations to come.
Roberts was to be confirmed Thursday by at least 77 senators in the GOP-controlled Senate, or more than three-fourths of the 100-member chamber, as President Bush's selection to replace the late William H. Rehnquist. The 50-year-old U.S. appeals court judge then was to be quickly sworn into his new position at the White House so he could take his seat on Monday in time for the new court session where justices will tackle issues like assisted suicide, campaign finance law and abortion.
The Bush administration wants the Supreme Court to reinstate a national ban on a type of late-term abortion, and the court already has scheduled arguments on whether New Hampshire's parental notification law is unconstitutional because it lacks an exception allowing a minor to have an abortion to protect her health in the event of a medical emergency.
Anti-abortion and abortion rights activists both have their hopes pinned on Roberts, a former government lawyer in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. While Roberts is solidly conservative and his wife, Jane, volunteers for Feminists for Life, both sides were anxious to see how he will vote on abortion cases before the high court.
Roberts told senators during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings that past Supreme Court rulings carry weight, including the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. He also said he agreed with the 1965 Supreme Court ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut that established the right of privacy on the sale and use of contraceptives.
But he tempered that by saying Supreme Court justices can overturn rulings.
During four days of sometimes testy questioning by Democrats, Roberts refused to answer questions that would hint how he'd rule on cases, a position that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called "unquestionably right" at a speech at Wake Forest University on Wednesday.
"If the Constitution says that the little guy should win, then the little guy's going to win in the court before me," Roberts told senators. "But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well then the big guy's going to win because my obligation is to the Constitution."
Over and over, he has assured lawmakers his rulings would be guided by his understanding of the facts of cases, the law and the Constitution, not by his personal views. "My faith and my religious beliefs do not play a role," said Roberts, who is Catholic.
Roberts' confirmation brings the number of Catholics on the court to a historic high of four. The Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes abortion.
All of the Senate's Republicans showered praise on Roberts. "If being intelligent, brilliant, a superb lawyer, the greatest legal mind of your generation and well qualified is not enough, what is?" said Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that recommended his confirmation on a 13-5 vote.
Democrats, even as they complained about his Reagan-era opinions and the White House's refusal to release his paperwork from the George H.W. Bush administration, acknowledged his brilliance and judicial demeanor.
"It is hard to see Judge Roberts as a judicial activist who would place ideological purity or a particular agenda above or ahead the need for thoughtful legal reasoning," said Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., one of the Democrats supporting Roberts.
Added independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who often allies himself with the Democrats: "It is clear Judge Roberts has the necessary legal experience and character to be the chief justice."
Roberts has the potential of leading the Supreme Court for decades. Not since John Marshall, confirmed in 1801 at 45, has there been a younger chief justice. Oliver Ellsworth was 50 — about six weeks from turning 51; and John Jay, the first chief justice, was 44. He served from 1789-1795.
Roberts also will hold a record of sorts — nominated to succeed two different Supreme Court justices within seven weeks. Bush originally named him to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in July. Rehnquist's death led to the second nomination on Sept. 6, and Roberts now will be confirmed as chief justice while O'Connor remains on the court until the president selects a new replacement.
Democrats already were warning the White House not to nominate a conservative ideologue to replace O'Connor. Bush was expected to announce the nominee soon.
"While this nomination did not warrant an attempt to block the nominee on the floor of the Senate, the next one might," Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., said.
Roberts grew up in Long Beach, Ind., working summers in the same steel mill where his father was an electrical engineer and serving as high school class president and captain of the football team.
After graduating with honors from Harvard University — both as an undergraduate and in law school — he clerked for Rehnquist when he was an associate justice on the Supreme Court and later worked as a prominent lawyer and judge in Washington. He argued 39 cases in front of the Supreme Court, and was considered one of the nation's best appellate lawyers before being tapped for the federal appeals court.
___
On the Net:
Senate: http://www.senate.gov
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov
what did you do before that edit? your sig was "stricken" (is that the right word?)
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