Senate Committee Questions Roberts

WASHINGTON—After nearly two months of anticipation, John G. Roberts Jr. ’76 fielded the first round of questions yesterday in his confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Roberts, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, maintained his composure as he faced hours of questioning—sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile, and sometimes merely inquisitive—from the 18-member committee, but he also left some senators protesting that his answers were not entirely straightforward.

At yesterday’s hearing, which lasted nearly 11 hours including recesses, the nominee for chief justice of the United States held fast to the assertion he had made during his opening statement on Monday that justices must “have the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent.”

“I do not have an overarching judicial philosophy that I bring to every case,” he said yesterday, adding that “a modest approach to judging” would benefit the American legal system.

Roberts, in one of his most sweeping statements of the day, affirmed that he believes the U.S. Constitution protects a right to privacy. He called Roe v. Wade—the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion—both “settled law” and a precedent to be respected.

But Roberts refused to delve into any particular cases regarding the issue of abortion, noting that such issues are likely to come before the Court again.

“I should stay away from discussion of specific cases,” he told Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the committee’s chairman, who opened the day’s hearings with questions about the contentious Roe v. Wade decision.

The senators present at the hearing also questioned Roberts about his views on issues such as civil rights, the separation and balance of powers, civil liberties in wartime, gender discrimination, and the role of the federal government in state and local matters.

But while Roberts, who said that he does not feel uncomfortable being labeled a “strict constructionist,” expounded on his general approach to the law, his reluctance to discuss the specifics of cases and issues that are likely to come before the Court appeared to irk several of the committee’s Democratic members.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden, D-Del., repeatedly interrupted Roberts during Biden’s questioning of the nominee and accused him of giving “misleading” answers.

Presiding over the hearings, Specter drew laughs from the audience when he said, “Now, wait a minute, wait a minute. They may be misleading, but they are his answers.”

Though seeming slightly agitated, Roberts kept his cool and responded, “With respect, they are my answers. And, with respect, they’re not misleading: they’re accurate.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56, D-Mass., and Sen. Charles E. Schumer ’71, D-N.Y., said outside the hearing room during a recess that they thought Roberts had not been entirely forthcoming with the committee.

“For almost every question, it’s ‘on the one hand, on the other hand,’” Schumer said. “We need more direct answers.”

When asked about memoranda he had written while working for former Presidents Ronald W. Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Roberts stressed that the views he expressed in those documents represented the views of those administrations, not necessarily his own.

Roberts largely declined to say which memos were representative of his own current views and which were not, noting that he had written many of them more than two decades ago.

But the nominee added, “Certainly, there are many areas where it appears that I knew a lot more when I was 25 than I think I know now when I’m 50. I had a lot of different experiences in the intervening period that give you valuable perspective.”

“I certainly wouldn’t write everything today as I wrote it back then,” he added, “but I don’t think any of us would do things or write things today as we did when we were 25 and had all the answers.”

At yesterday’s hearings, each senator on the Judiciary Committee was allowed 30 minutes to question Roberts, moving in order of seniority and alternating between Republican and Democratic members.

Many Republican committee members praised Roberts’ professional credentials and his promise to emphasize respect for legal precedent and a strict adherence to the rule of law.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Roberts whether, as chief justice, he would follow in the footsteps of William H. Rehnquist, the late chief justice for whom Roberts once clerked.

“I will have to insist that I will be my own man, and I hesitate to be put in anybody’s mold,” Roberts answered.

When Graham questioned Roberts on how he would like to be remembered by history, the nominee jokingly responded, “I’d like them to start by saying, ‘He was confirmed.’”

Striking a more serious tone, Roberts continued, “Whether they say that or not...I would like them to say I was a good judge.”

If confirmed as the 17th chief justice, Roberts will be the first graduate of Harvard College or Harvard Law School to hold that position. He would also be the youngest chief justice in over two centuries.

While in law school, Roberts was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review, but he was not particularly outspoken about his conservative political views, according to his Harvard peers.

Most experts agree that Roberts, currently a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is likely to secure the Judiciary Committee’s endorsement and win confirmation in the Senate.

The committee will reconvene today for a second round of questioning. Specter said yesterday during a break that he hopes to question Roberts further on the notion of a “living Constitution.”

—Staff writer Daniel J. T. Schuker can be reached at dschuker@fas.harvard.edu.