Roberts vows to back rulings

WASHINGTON – John Roberts pledged Tuesday to respect established rulings if confirmed to the Supreme Court, saying judges must recognize that their role is “not to solve society’s problems.”

With few appeals court rulings by Roberts to go on, lawmakers and special interest groups have been poring over the nominee’s writings to try to determine his legal philosophy. Roberts provided some new insight in answers to a lengthy questionnaire from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will begin considering Roberts’ nomination on Sept. 6.

Still, the 84-page disclosure, which was released Tuesday, contained no smoking gun. Roberts provided responses to an array of questions involving work history, political ties and views on judicial activism. His thoughts on activism are considered critical to gauging his position on overturning the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

“Precedent plays an important role in promoting the stability of the legal system,” Roberts wrote. “A sound judicial philosophy should reflect recognition of the fact that the judge operates within a system of rules developed over the years by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath.” At the same time, Roberts said that “judges must be constantly aware that their role, while important, is limited.”

“They do not have a commission to solve society’s problems, as they see them, but simply to decide cases before them according to the rule of law,” he wrote.

Bush has nominated Roberts to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who often provided the decisive swing vote in decisions in which the court’s liberal and conservatives wings were split. Roberts worked in the administrations of President Reagan and the first President Bush before entering private practice. He has been an appellate judge since 2003.

In response to a question about his memberships, Roberts said he does not recall ever being a member of the conservative Federalist Society, although he participated in events including a 1993 panel and gave a luncheon speech to the legal group in 2003.

Detailing his political ties, Roberts said he spent about a week assisting Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during the disputed presidential election count in 2000. He said he went to Florida at the request of GOP lawyers, assisting an attorney who was preparing arguments for the Florida Supreme Court and at one point meeting the governor to discuss the legal issues “in a general way.”