Senator introduces new issue into hearings

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court nominee John Roberts was told by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Republican chairman on Monday that lawmakers are irate about the high court’s “disrespectful statements about Congress’ competence” and by its interference with congressional power.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter advised Roberts in a letter that he will question the nominee on his thoughts about the court’s attitude toward Congress and on two cases in which the court limited Congress’ lawmaking ability.

Specter called the limiting of Congress’ authority “the hallmark agenda of the judicial activism of the Rehnquist court.”

“I do see a great deal of popular and congressional dissatisfaction with the judicial activism, and at the minimum, the Senate’s determination to confirm new justices who will respect Congress’ constitutional role,” Specter said.

Republicans are hoping for smooth hearings followed by a quick confirmation vote on Roberts. Though Specter didn’t criticize Roberts specifically, his comments introduced a new element into the discussion.

Democrats pointed to Specter’s letter as an indication that they, too, should be able to ask Roberts about specific legal cases at his Sept. 6 confirmation hearing. Roberts’ supporters have argued that the nominee shouldn’t be forced to talk about individual cases and what he thinks about the issues involved.

In one case Specter cited, United States. v. Lopez, the high court threw out a federal law in 1995 that banned possession of a gun within 1,000 feet of a school, saying Congress lacked the authority to enact it. In United States v. Morrison, the Supreme Court threw out part of the federal Violence Against Women Act in 2000, saying rape victims cannot sue their attackers in federal court because it is up to the states – not Congress – to give such help to women victimized by violence.

In both cases, Congress said its power to regulate interstate commerce gave it the ability to pass the laws. The court disagreed.