By By John Dresty
As you know, we lost two U.S. Supreme Court Justices recently. First Sandra Day O’Connor retired and then Chief Justice Rehnquist died. The new nominee, Judge John Roberts, was intended to replace Justice O’Connor. But now, instead of the current sitting judges-Roberts is the nominee for position of Chief Justice. He’s a clever choice by George Bush, a conservative, but not too conservative to keep him from gliding through the confirmation hearings. Previously he was an appeals court federal judge, which is usually an appropriate qualification for a Supreme Court nominee. Before that he practiced law under President Reagan’s administration and graduated from Harvard Law School.
His confirmation in the Senate has been seen as “inevitable,” some called it a coronation rather than a confirmation. Even if Democrats joined to block him, there are enough votes to get him confirmed. Nonetheless, a few senators (feeling heat from progressive groups) have made grandstanding speeches questioning John Robert’s qualifications for the job. Senate Democrats grilled him about his views on the right to privacy (i.e., abortion). They reminded him of memos he wrote as a young lawyer for the Reagan administration, particularly the one where he referred to the “so-called” right of privacy. Sen. Arlen Specter, a rare pro-choice Republican, held up a huge sign to illustrate that Roe v. Wade is not just a precedent, but rather “super-duper precedent.” Yet Roberts, a devout Catholic, stated his personal views would not affect his view on abortion. During his confirmation hearings, he declined to state his position on Roe v. Wade, specifically saying, “I should stay away from discussions of particular issues that are likely to come before the court again.”
However, in the past, Roberts expressed views that cause serious concerns for those on the left. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat, said in a statement, “In influential White House and Department of Justice positions, John Roberts expressed views that were among the most radical, being offered by a cadre intent on reversing decades of policies on civil rights, voting rights, women’s rights, privacy and access to justice.”
Many of the Democrat senators are feeling heat from leftist groups like People for the American Way, the Alliance for Justice and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. They are calling on Democrats to not just “accept the inevitable,” but rather reject Roberts’s confirmation. These groups note that Roberts once wrote that a Supreme Court case on prohibiting silent prayer in public schools “seems indefensible.” Roberts, they say, called a federal court decision that sought to guarantee women equal pay to men ,”a radical redistributive concept.”
Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts was among the group grilling Roberts. He said Roberts “opposed effective voting rights legislation and wanted to restrict laws vital to battling discrimination by recipients of federal funds.” In response to Leahy and Kennedy, the White House released a statement saying, “It is disturbing to see the ease with which some senior Democrats are willing to distort John Roberts’s record and writings as a young lawyer in the Reagan administration.” Other Republicans hit back as well. Also, despite Robert’s stated respect for stare decisis (precedent), many anti-abortion groups are excited about Robert’s nomination. Meanwhile, our “Republican” Mayor Bloomberg stated that Roberts should be rejected for his insufficient stance on abortion rights.
All this fighting is moot; the real battle will be the next nomination. Roberts is seen as a replacement for Rehnquist who was more conservative than him. The O’Connor position, therefore, still needs to be filled. She was the only real moderate on the court. She made the deciding vote in many decisions. When lawyers argued cases before the court, they would address only one justice-Sandra Day O’Connor. However, the next nominee will likely be cut from the same mold as Roberts, rather than that of O’Connor. That’s when the real fighting will start.
John Dresty is a student at the law school. You may email him at [email protected]