Roberts Had Bumpy Road to Federal Bench
By NANCY BENAC
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 19, 2005; 8:17 PM
WASHINGTON -- John G. Roberts Jr. was one of President Bush's noncontroversial picks for the appeals court. Getting there, however, was a long time coming.
First nominated for the bench in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush, Roberts was never given a hearing nor confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate. He was nominated by the current President Bush in 2001, but the nomination again died. Bush renominated him in January 2003 and the Senate confirmed his nomination May 8, 2003, by voice vote.
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Abortion rights groups, however, have maintained that he tried during his days as a lawyer in the first Bush administration to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion.
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Some 146 members of the D.C. Bar signed a letter urging his confirmation, including Clinton administration officials.
The letter said: "He is one of the very best and most highly respected appellate lawyers in the nation, with a deserved reputation as a brilliant writer and oral advocate. He is also a wonderful professional colleague both because of his enormous skills and because of his unquestioned integrity and fair-mindedness.
Roberts was associate counsel to President Reagan from 1982-86 and then served in the first Bush administration arguing cases before the Supreme Court from 1989-93
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Roberts also has made the case that some problems simply should be left to the states. In a 1999 radio interview, he said, "We have gotten to the point these days where we think the only way we can show we're serious about a problem is if we pass a federal law, whether it is the Violence Against Women Act or anything else. The fact of the matter is conditions are different in different states, and state laws can be more relevant."
http://tinyurl.com/8fu7x
Gads, this just keeps getting better and better......
Thanks for posting his "states rights" comment.
That really SEALS THE DEAL for me.