Senators to Question Supreme Court Nominee Roberts
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 9/13/2005
The hearings on Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee John Roberts continue Tuesday, with senators expected to question Roberts on civil rights, privacy rights, and the courts' powers, among other issues.Civil rights groups say senators must demand complete answers from the nominee.
"John Roberts must use the hearings as an opportunity to account for his unacceptable stances on civil rights and other important issues," said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).
Henderson said Roberts has much to explain, given the views taken in the nominee's memos from the 1980s.
In memos written while an advisor in the Reagan administration, Roberts warned that Voting Rights Act violations "should not be made too easy to prove;" chided the White House for suggesting that there was a "fundamental right to be free from discrimination," stating that "[t]here is of course no such right;" and referred to "the canard that women are discriminated against because they receive $0.59 to every $1.00 earned by men."
Roberts gave his opening statement Monday, following remarks by each member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and introductions by Senators Warner, Lugar, and Bayh.
The Senate Judiciary Committee consists of 18 senators--10 Republicans and 8 Democrats.
Democratic and Republican senators expressed sharply different views about the role of government and the role of the judiciary. Such differences extended to the questioning of the nominee himself, with Democrats stating their intention to press Roberts on controversial issues, while Republicans argued that the nominee had no obligation to answer such questions, if asked them.
President Bush nominated Roberts to replace the late William H. Rehnquist as the 17th chief of the nation's highest court. Bush had previously nominated Roberts to succeed retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor earlier this summer.
Roberts, who had been a clerk for Chief Justice Rehnquist and is currently an appellate judge, has been opposed by a number of groups concerned about his record on civil rights and women's rights.
Civil rights groups say the elevation of Roberts adds additional pressure on the Bush administration to release all records relating to documents that had been requested by senators. The administration is currently withholding documents from Roberts' stint as the political deputy to Solicitor General Kenneth Starr.
"President Bush has dug in his heels by refusing to release relevant documents from Roberts' time as a top political appointee and dragged his feet on releasing thousands of other records. This is no time to hide the ball. Given that the next chief justice will affect the lives of all Americans, the Bush administration has a clear obligation to the public to provide the Senate with everything it needs to fully review Roberts' record," said LCCR's Henderson.
