supreme court
John Roberts - The Man and His
Views
By Melissa Charbonneau
White House Correspondent
CBN.com –
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts has made the rounds
on Capitol Hill, meeting with the senators who will be interviewing
him and voting on his confirmation.
Several centrist Democrats have praised Roberts,
and no Democrat has yet come out against him.
It was Roberts’ immaculate resume that first jumped out
at President Bush.
White House Counsel Dan Barlett said that Roberts' character
and integrity convinced the President to place him on the highest
court in the land. "… when he met with him personally
and saw the man in person - the father, the husband, the man from
the Midwest,” explained Bartlett, “[a] plain-spoken,
humble man proud of his achievements, and not a man who brags
about his achievements..."
Bartlett added, "To be 50 years old and already have argued
39 cases before the Supreme Court demonstrates the breadth and
capacity Judge Roberts has...and all the same time, be able to
be a good dad to his young kids, is really marvelous."
Roberts' colleagues describe the Harvard graduate as "decent,
humble, and a regular guy" who just happens to be brilliant.
Surpassing his legal peers, Roberts clerked for Supreme Court
Justice William Rehnquist, served in the Reagan Justice Department,
in the first Bush administration as Deputy Solicitor General,
and for the last two years, as a judge on the D.C. Federal Appeals
Circuit.
Ernie Heuter, former president of the National Legal Center for
the Public Interest, praised Roberts saying, "He's a straight
arrow. He's a marvelous brain, he's a good lawyer. He knows his
way around the Justice Department, around the Supreme Court, he
knows his way around government, and he's a human being."
Heuter has known Roberts for over a decade. "He doesn't
wear his politics on his sleeve at all,” Heuter said, “because
I don't believe he thinks politics belongs in the court to start
with. "
Long-time friend Shannen Coffin said Roberts was tough competition
in the courtroom. "John is always a very tough lawyer to
be up against because he's extraordinarily prepared. He's extraordinarily
smart," Coffin said.
"He always knows more about the case than the lawyers arguing
the case in front of him,” he added, “because he's
read everything that has to do with the case - all the papers,
all the background."
Colleagues see Roberts’ judicial philosophy as a strict
constructionist. "He wouldn't believe the judge is the center
of the legal universe,” Coffin stated. “…He
would approach his job with humility and respect for the law;
that is, that his job is to determine what the law was meant to
be, not what he would have the law to be.”
Both Roberts and his wife are devout Catholics. His wife, Jane
Sullivan Roberts, also a lawyer, does pro-bono work for, and was
a board member of "Feminists for Life," a point of concern
for groups who question Roberts’ social stances.
Not a worry for those who know him best. Coffin assured, "He's
going to look carefully at the facts in the case. He’s going
to look carefully at the law, and he's not going to come to it
with any preconceived notions about whether Roe v. Wade is an
abomination, or anything like that.”
Even Roberts’ critics acknowledge his stellar resume, but
in the upcoming confirmation hearings, expect a blistering barrage
of questions into whether Roberts is a mainstream judge, or a
stealth nominee in the mold of Scalia or Thomas.
For more on Roberts and the importance of the Supreme Court,
please visit our special Supreme
Court section.
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