John G. Roberts, Jr.
Supreme Court Nominee Profile
Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. has demonstrated hostility to the right to privacy, civil rights, affirmative action, gender equality, and the separation of religion and state. As principal deputy solicitor general from 1989-1993, Roberts not only failed to defend fundamental constitutional rights, he actively participated in efforts to curtail those rights. In the two years Roberts served as a judge on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, his record raised troubling questions about his ideology and judicial philosophy. And in his confirmation hearings – made difficult by the administration's refusal to divulge important documents regarding his career -- Roberts refused to reveal his views on important settled case law. NCJW opposed Roberts' confirmation to both the DC Circuit Court and Supreme Court.
Nomination Status
Press Releases
Nominee Record
Other Organizations Opposing This Nominee
On September 29, 2005 the Senate voted 78-22 to confirm Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. as chief justice of the United States. Roberts will be the 17th chief justice in US history, succeeding Chief Justice William Rehnquist (deceased).
Earlier, on September 22, 2005 the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 to send the nomination of Judge Roberts to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation. Roberts was nominated by President Bush for the position of chief justice on September 5, 2005. Roberts was previously nominated on July 19, 2005 to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as associate justice on the Supreme Court -- a nomination which was withdrawn. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings were held September 12-15, 2005.
Previously, on May 8, 2003 the Senate confirmed John Roberts to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in a voice vote. Robert's nomination was the latest in a series intended to pack the courts with judges sympathetic to an ideological agenda that includes weakening or overturning Roe v. Wade, without a thorough airing of their views. Despite the controversial nature of his nomination, on January 29, 2003, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a joint hearing for Roberts with two other controversial judicial nominees, and senators were unable to question him fully for the record. The nomination was approved in committee on February 27, 2003, but it was sent back to the committee for a more complete hearing, eventually held April 30, 2003. The committee then approved the nomination 16-3 on May 8, 2003, and the Senate approved it by a voice vote on the same day.
NCJW opposed Roberts' confirmation to the DC Circuit Court and the Supreme Court.
September 22, 2005
Roberts' Confirmation is Blow to Fundamental Freedoms, says NCJW
September 22, 2005
NCJW Decries Committee Approval of Roberts Nomination
September 16, 2005
After Senate Hearing, NCJW Renews Call to Reject Roberts
September 15, 2005
NCJW Provides Testimony on the Nomination of Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States
September 6, 2005
NCJW Opposes Nomination of Roberts as Chief Justice
September 1, 2005
NCJW President Outlines Anti-Roberts Mobilization
August 26, 2005
NCJW Challenges Senate Judiciary Committee on Eve of Roberts Hearings
July 25, 2005
Phyllis Snyder's Supreme Court Op-Ed Published by JTA
July 20, 2005
NCJW Opposes Nomination of John Roberts to Supreme Court
February 11, 2003
NCJW Opposes Nomination of John Roberts to DC Circuit Court of Appeals
In his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Roberts refused to disavow any of the positions he took while working for the Reagan Administration -- positions that claimed Roe v. Wade should be overturned, that belittled discrimination against women, and that opposed strengthening the right to vote. Further, the administration refused to divulge important documents concerning Roberts' work in the solicitor general's office that would have shed further light on his views in mid-career.
While serving as Deputy Solicitor General in the Bush Administration, Roberts argued for the gag rule in Rust v. Sullivan (1991), by which the federal government barred doctors working in family planning programs receiving federal funds from even discussing abortion options with patients. The brief also argued that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided -- a question not even posed in the case. The Supreme Court upheld the gag rule on the narrower ground that the rule itself was not unconstitutional.
As deputy solicitor general, Roberts also argued in an amicus curiae brief in Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic (1993) that protesters from Operation Rescue and six other individuals who blocked access to reproductive health care clinics did not discriminate against women, even though only women could exercise the right to seek an abortion. The year after the Supreme Court endorsed this narrow interpretation, Congress enacted the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) to protect women and health care providers from violence, clinic blockades, and harassment.
In documents released by the Reagan Presidential Library, Judge Roberts referred dismissively to the "so-called right to privacy;" derided the conclusion in Griswold v. Connecticut that privacy is a fundamental constitutional right; and expressed approval of the idea of a mass funeral for fetal remains as an "an entirely appropriate means of calling attention to the abortion tragedy." Further, Judge Roberts refused to affirm a constitutional right to privacy during his confirmation hearing for the DC Court of Appeals.
The Reagan Library documents show that John G. Roberts, Jr. sought to curtail remedies for discrimination in employment and education and opposed legislation to fortify the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act. He urged undoing policies aimed at achieving racial diversity in employment, education, and broadcasting through affirmative action. He favored limiting the application of Title IX and dismissed gender pay equity issues referring to it as "the purported gender gap." Roberts also argued that the equal protection clause did not apply to women. Roberts took a position in support of dramatically weakening the Education for All Handicapped Children Act.
Judge Roberts has consistently supported a limited role for federal courts. While serving in the Attorney General's office and White House Counsel's office during the Reagan administration, Judge Roberts wrote numerous memoranda supporting efforts to remove certain classes of cases from the federal courts. He defended bills that would have removed federal court jurisdiction over areas including desegregation, school prayer, and abortion.
While working in the Solicitor General's office, in the case of Lee v. Weisman, Roberts argued that government-sponsored prayers are permissible at a public school graduation, because they "merely respect the religious heritage of the community" and are "an expression of civic tolerance and accommodation to all citizens." Commenting beyond this specific case, Judge Roberts went so far as to say that prayer is acceptable in all public forums. Such a declaration reflects a narrow view of the establishment clause, which provides for separation between religions and state.
Other Organizations Opposing This Nominee
ADA Watch/National Coalition on Disability Rights
Alliance for Justice
American Association for Affirmative Action
American Association of University Women
American Federation of Labor -- Congress of Industrial Organizations
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Bazelon Center
Black Women's Health Imperative
Center for American Progress
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Congressional Black Caucus
Equal Justice Society
Feminist Majority
Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary
Human Rights Campaign
The Japanese American Citizens League
Lambda Legal
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
League of United Latin American Citizens
Legal Momentum
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
MoveOn.org
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Abortion Federation
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association of the Deaf
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of Women's Organization
National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
The National Lawyers Guild
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
National Women's Law Center
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
People for the American Way
Planned Parenthood
Pro-Choice Public Education Project's Young Women's Leadership Council
RAINBOW/PUSH Coalition
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Service Employees International Union
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US
The Shalom Center
The Women's Sports Foundation
Woodhull Freedom Foundation and Federation
USAction