President Bush nominated highly qualified John G. Roberts Jr. tonight for the U.S. Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
[A] nominee to that Court must be a person of superb credentials and the highest integrity; a person who will faithfully apply the Constitution and keep our founding promise of equal justice under law. I have found such a person in Judge John Roberts.And tonight, I'm honored to announce that I am nominating him to serve as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. John Roberts currently serves on one of the most influential courts in the nation, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Before he was a -- before he was a respected judge, he was known as one of the most distinguished and talented attorneys in America. John Roberts has devoted his entire professional life to the cause of justice and is widely admired for his intellect, his sound judgment, and personal decency.
Judge Roberts was born in Buffalo and grew up in Indiana. In high school, he captained his football team, and he worked summers in a steel mill to help pay his way through college. He's an honors graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Law School. In his career, he has served as a law clerk to Justice William Rehnquist, as an Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan, and as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the Department of Justice.
In public service and in private practice, he has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court and earned a reputation as one of the best legal minds of his generation. Judge Roberts has earned the respect of people from both political parties. After he was nominated for the Court of Appeals in 2001, a bipartisan group of more than 150 lawyers sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee. They wrote:
"Although as individuals we reflect a wide spectrum of political party affiliation and ideology, we are united in our belief that John Roberts will be an outstanding federal court appeals judge and should be confirmed by the United States Senate."
The signers of this letter included a former counsel to a Republican President, a former counsel to two Democratic Presidents, and a former -- and former high-ranking Justice Department officials of both parties.
Bush seemed more than self-confident, as shown in the White House video. If it's possible to swagger while standing still, that was it.
John at Blogs of War has started a comprehensive list of links and resources.
It will be tough for the Democrats to mount credible opposition to a judicial candidate who received unanimous Senate approval as a Washington, D.C. federal appellate judge only two years ago. They'll try like crazy, of course, as promised by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NJ) to his cell-phone buddy a few weeks ago. But it isn't going to fly with the public.
Posted by Alan at July 19, 2005 09:22 PM