Bush chooses Roberts

WASHINGTON – President Bush nominated appellate Judge John G. Roberts Jr. for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, choosing a quiet conservative who might be able to avoid a bitter confirmation battle.

Roberts, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is a former clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist and a former legal counsel in the Reagan White House. His nomination pleased conservative activists, who generally view him as a solid addition to the court’s conservative wing.

Democrats held their fire, saying they wanted to know more about Roberts’ opinions on abortion, individual rights and other sensitive issues. If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a swing vote who often tipped the court balance against her more conservative colleagues.

Bush praised the nominee as a man of “extraordinary accomplishment” and integrity.

“He will strictly apply the Constitution and laws, not legislate from the bench,” Bush said in nationally televised remarks. “Judge Roberts has served his fellow citizens well. He is prepared for even greater service.”

Roberts, 50, who has argued 39 cases at the Supreme Court and won 25, said he was humbled by his selection.

“I always got a lump in my throat whenever I walked up those marble steps to argue a case before the court, and I don’t think it was just from the nerves,” he said.

The president signaled his determination to fight for the nomination by interrupting regular TV programming to announce it at 9 p.m. EDT. The timing gave him a chance to introduce his choice to the broadest possible audience, without the filter of media coverage.

Abortion-rights groups immediately mobilized against the nomination, but leading Senate Democrats were more restrained. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada promised to withhold judgment.

“The president has chosen someone with suitable legal credentials, but that is not the end of our inquiry,” Reid said.

The Senate is expected to begin confirmation hearings in September with the goal of approving Roberts’ appointment in time for him to join the court when the new term starts in October. O’Connor has said she’ll remain on the bench until her replacement is confirmed.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush settled on Roberts after culling a list of 11 potential nominees in the nearly three weeks since O’Connor announced her retirement.

Although Roberts isn’t considered as controversial as some of the other possible court candidates, he can anticipate a grilling during the confirmation process.

Roberts’ views on abortion are sure to be one of the biggest friction points. While serving in the Justice Department under President George H.W. Bush in 1990, Roberts co-authored a legal brief arguing that the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling for abortion rights “was wrongly decided and should be overruled.”

Roberts’ defenders note that he wrote the brief in his role as an advocate, not as a judge. During his confirmation for the D.C. appellate court, Roberts said he considered Roe v. Wade “settled law of the land” and added, “There is nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent.”

NARAL Pro-Choice America, one of the nation’s largest abortion-rights groups, called Roberts “a divisive nominee” and vowed to defeat him. The American Civil Liberties Union expressed “deep concern” about Roberts’ views on individual liberties, without specifically calling for his rejection.

Conservatives echoed Bush’s praise of the nominee.

“He clerked for Rehnquist, which says a lot,” said Jan LaRue, the chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, a conservative group. “No reasonable person can claim that Judge Roberts is out of the mainstream.”

Roberts, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., grew up in Indiana, where he worked in a steel mill during the summer to help pay for college. He graduated with honors from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Roberts went into private practice in Washington and made a fortune after serving in the Justice Department under the first President Bush. He earned more than $1 million in his last year at the prestigious Hogan & Hartson law firm, then gave that up for a $171,800-a-year posting on the D.C. Circuit Court.

Financial records indicate that Roberts has at least $2.8 million in various investments, plus a home assessed at nearly $1.3 million.