Judge Roberts Awaits Confirmation as Search for Second Vacancy Begins
President Bush has called for a meeting Wednesday to find a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Meanwhile Judge John Roberts awaits confirmation as the 17th Chief Justice by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
President Bush has called for a meeting Wednesday to find a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Key lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Arlen Specter, (R-Pa.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), have been invited to the White House to begin consultations in filling the first Supreme Court vacancy in 11 years.
The President had nominated Judge John Roberts to replace O'Connor after she announced her retirement in July. With the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, however, Roberts was immediately elevated to fill the position of the second vacant seat.
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Last week, Roberts concluded three days of questioning and now awaits confirmation as the 17th Chief Justice by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to vote on Sept. 22, with a full U.S. Senate vote by the end of next week.
While voting may be along party lines in the Republican-controlled committee, according to Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, many U.S. Senators and Christian groups predict an easy confirmation for Roberts.
Sen. Arlen Specter, a key Republican, said he "wouldn't dispute" the expected confirmation of Roberts.
Even in the case of a party-line vote, Sekulow said on his daily radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live, "I still think he's going to receive overwhelming support on the Senate floor."
During last week's confirmation hearings, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) addressed Roberts, saying, "You're brilliant. You have an amazing knowledge of the law."
"You may very well posses the most powerful intellect of any person to come before the Senate for this position," he added.
Some Christian conservatives, however, such as Patrick J. Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, expressed frustration for not knowing Roberts' stance on such moral and social issues as abortion and marriage.
Still, other Christian groups applauded Roberts for how he responded during the three-day hearings.
Sekulow said last week that Roberts' refusal to comment was appropriate.
"Judge Roberts steadfastly refused to answer questions that would require him to prejudge issues that could well come before the Court,” he stated after Roberts’ second day of questioning. “He drew a very clear and practical line—cases such as Marbury or Brown that are settled beyond a doubt can be discussed, but cases such as Roe that present emerging or developing issues are still very much in play. Despite intense questioning, for example, Judge John Roberts properly refused to provide any hints, predictions, or forecasts on how he might rule on privacy and abortion issues."
Cathy Cleaver Ruse, of the Family Research Council, also applauded Roberts' response to the questioning in a statement released Tuesday by the conservative Christian group.
"Specifically we were pleased with Judge Roberts' answers about Roe v. Wade. Judge Roberts refused to give hints or projections about how he might evaluate a future abortion case before the Court," she said.
According to a statement released Thursday by Concerned Women for America, "America has witnessed that Judge Roberts possesses the credentials and character needed in our country's highest court."
"Nothing less than an 'aye' vote is satisfactory for such a qualified candidate.”
