Roberts Fails to Allay Concerns About His Views on Civil Rights
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 9/15/2005
John Roberts, nominee to be the nation's 17th chief justice, concludes his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, with Americans not knowing much more about the nominee's views than they did at the beginning of the week.According to a new CBS News Poll, Judge Roberts had yet to convince the American people that he deserves confirmation: 63% of Americans remained undecided.
While 54% of Americans said that they are following his nomination closely, Roberts' deflection and evasion of questions doesn't appear to be educating them on where he stands on critical issues facing the country.
Americans also recognize the significant role a chief justice plays, with 53% stating that the Senate should scrutinize Roberts more closely now that his nomination has been elevated to chief justice.
Civil rights groups say Roberts has done nothing to dispel concerns regarding the positions he took as a top political appointee in the Reagan and first Bush administrations on women's rights and civil rights. They say without documents from his stint in the Solicitor General's office, which the White House has refused to disclose, the Senate cannot fulfill its constitutional duty to conduct a thorough review of the nomination.
During Wednesday's questioning, Roberts declined repeated invitations to address the human dimension of legal practice, or the impact his opinions would have on real people.
"I guess what has begun to concern me a little bit is Judge Roberts, the legal automaton, as opposed to Judge Roberts, the man," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D. Calif., said as she tried without success to elicit his views on end-of-life issues.
Democratic senators will have another round of questions Thursday. The day will conclude with testimony from outside witnesses, including Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
