Roberts For Supreme Nod!

The suspense is over... Justice John G. Roberts Jr, currently on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals (serving since 2003 and appointed by President G.W. Bush) is the nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court seat being vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor.

The Washington Post has this initial comparison between Roberts and Justice J. Michael Luttig, who was also rumoured to be in the running.

Other information coming via television news is that the President met Roberts on Friday for the interview and made up his mind this morning.

Roberts is a mere 50 years old, so could conceivably serve for several decades.

Roberts has been a lawyer in the Washington, D.C. legal establishment with strong ties to both people in both political parties. It remains to be learned how strong his conservative credentials are, but as part of the George H.W. Bush administration he wrote a brief which suggested that Roe vs. Wade, the abortion case, should be overturned.

This from the Post Story:

Of the two, Roberts spent more time practicing law in Washington, where he has networked with many Democrats. When Roberts was nominated for the D.C. Circuit in 2003, Clinton's former solicitor general, Seth P. Waxman, called Roberts an "exceptionally well-qualified appellate advocate."

"He is a Washington lawyer, a conservative, not an ideologue," said Stuart H. Newberger, a lawyer and self-described liberal Democrat who has argued cases against Roberts.

He put in his time advising the Bush legal team in Florida during the battle over the 2000 presidential election and has often argued conservative positions before the court -- but they can be attributed to clients, not necessarily to him.

That includes a brief he wrote for President George H.W. Bush's administration in a 1991 abortion case, in which he observed that "we continue to believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overruled."

Ooops!!! Suggested overturning Roe AND worked for Bush in Florida 2000. YIKES!

When Roberts was first confirmed in 2003, the vote was unanimous, but the story of his inital nomination for the federal bench goes back to 1992 when President George H. W. Bush nominated him. In June 2003, Alberto Gonzales, then Counselor to the President and the current Attorney General wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post (reprinted here at the Committee for Justice):

The Senate voted unanimously on May 8 to confirm Roberts to the D.C. Circuit. That vote is noteworthy for two reasons, however, both of which demonstrate the serious breakdown in the Senate confirmation process for federal appeals court nominees.

First, the long road from Roberts's nomination to his confirmation vote is impossible to defend. Roberts was first nominated to the D.C. Circuit more than 11 years ago, in January 1992, but did not receive a hearing before the end of President George H.W. Bush's term. President George W. Bush then nominated Roberts on May 9, 2001, shortly after taking office. But the Senate Judiciary Committee did not hold a hearing on the nomination during the last Congress, even though no serious objections were lodged against Roberts. President Bush then re-nominated him on Jan. 7, 2003. Finally, after two hearings this year, Roberts received his Senate vote, on May 8.It was unanimous, which makes the many years of delay all the more difficult to explain and justify.

More here from Real Clear Politics:

Appellate Court Judge Roberts is Bush Pick
• John G. Roberts: Biography Resumé Profile Wikipedia Background • Text of Roberts 2003 Confirmation Hearing: Part I Part II • Who Is John G. Roberts?• Roberts Could Go Both Ways on Roe• Hearing Won't Be Until Late August • Bench Memos Confirm Them How Appealing RedState SCOTUS Blog • Statements: Gary Bauer Committee For Justice Alliance For Justice People For the American Way Senator Thune Senator Santorum RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Senator Ben Nelson Senator Patrick Leahy Senator John Kerry