High Court Hearings: Roberts' Final Bow

By David Brody
Capitol Hill Correspondent

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - John Roberts is wrapping up his testimony today. Senate Democrats wanted another shot at questioning the Supreme Court nominee.

Many Democrats have been frustrated with Roberts' answers to their questions.

Roberts returns to this table again - a table he knows well after being scrutinized the last two days. Democrats asked for a third round of questioning. Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will all take one last shot at Roberts.

No new ground is expected. They will mostly stick to Roberts’ views on affirmative action and abortion.

But do not expect them to get anywhere. Roberts has opted not to answer where he stands on these issues, because he says these hot button topics may come before him and he would not want to prejudge them.

On Wednesday, Democrats pretty much threw up their hands, especially on the role that the right to privacy plays in abortion rights.

After getting nowhere on a host of issues, it was left up to Schumer to lower the boom on Roberts. Democrats finally had enough.

"The door outside this room doesn't say, check your views out the door,” Schumer said. “So your failure to answer questions is confounding me. You've done it in instance, after instance, after instance, after instance."

Schumer did make light of the situation somewhat, sarcastically wondering if Roberts would give his opinion on movies.

Roberts gave Schumer the answer he was looking for. "First, umm, ‘Dr. Zhivago,’ replied Roberts, “and ‘North by Northwest’ (laughter).

But then, Roberts turned serious. He said, "It is not a process under which senators get to say I want you to rule this way, this way and this way, and if you tell me you'll rule this way, this way and this way, I'll vote for you."

In an interview with CBN News, the Senate's third-ranking Republican, Rick Santorum (R-PA), said he thinks Roberts has been solid. "I think he set a great standard going forward for judicial nominees, as to laying out the proper role of the court,” Santorum said. “That's one of the things I think we've lost. We've gotten into this battle, we want a liberal or a conservative. No, what we want is someone who decides the case before them as narrowly as possible."

As if to underscore the importance of judges in today's society, right in the middle of the Roberts’ hearings, came yet another controversial ruling from a federal judge. A San Francisco judge ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional.

Conservatives say the ruling is blatant judicial activism - and that it shows just how much a traditionalist like Roberts is needed on the Supreme Court.

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