Jeanne Cummings
July 27, 2005

Jeanne Cummings joined the Wall Street Journal Washington Bureau in 1997 as a political reporter. In 2000, she won the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award, the highest honor for daily White House correspondents, for her coverage of the Clinton Administration. (Read Jeanne Cummings's bio)

Q: What is known about John G. Roberts's views on the legality of abortion, homosexuality and civil rights? How are senators going to approach these issues in the confirmation hearings?

Very little is known about his personal or legal views on all those subjects. There are some White House legal documents and memos that touch on abortion and civil rights. Most notably, he authored a court amicus brief for President George H.W. Bush that advocated overturning Roe v. Wade. Mr. Roberts has said he was simply acting as an advocate for the White House when he prepared that document and it should not be viewed as reflecting his own thinking. However, new records released by the National Archives show that in the early 1980s, while in the Reagan White House, Mr. Roberts also was critical of the Roe v. Wade ruling.

On civil rights, the record shows Mr. Roberts urging a limited interpretation of federal law, or being outright critical of such programs. Mr. Roberts was part of a team of lawyers advising the Reagan White House on issues such as affirmative action and school busing. On busing, Mr. Roberts argued that Congress could limit judges' ability to mandate it for desegregation purposes. In another memo, he was critical of a report highlighting affirmative action successes and blaming sabotage for failures. "There is no recognition of the obvious reason for failure: the affirmative action program rewquires the recruiting of inadequately prepared candidates."

Thus far, there is scant evidence of Mr. Roberts' thinking on gay rights issues. More records are scheduled for release, which could shed more light on his thinking.

Democratic senators also are expected to inquire about Mr. Roberts' views on previous Supreme Court rulings and the justices' interpretations of the Constitution. His answers to those questions could provide clues to how he might rule on future cases.

Q: Is President Bush confident that Judge Roberts shares Bush's own outlook on key legal issues? Does he know for sure that he and Roberts share a judicial philosophy? Sometimes presidents end up surprised by the rulings their nominees make once on the bench. Can the president be sure that Judge Roberts is not another Justice Souter?

No president can be absolutely certain, but President Bush has gone to extra lengths to avoid a surprise. The White House focused on sitting judges, for instance, so there would be a firm paper trail showing how the candidate viewed the constitution and its reach. Mr. Roberts has a relatively short tenure on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals -- just two years. But he is well known in conservative legal circles and to the Bush family. He served with the first President Bush, who was the first to nominate him to the federal court. The nomination lapsed as the 1992 election neared. Mr. Roberts advised Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during the 2000 recount in Florida. And he is familiar with the current President Bush.

Q: What documents are Democrats seeking from John Roberts? What's available and what's not?

Democrats haven't officially asked for records, yet. Generally, they are likely to seek any internal memos in which Mr. Roberts critiqued a policy, either on a legal basis or based on the position the administration was considering. The White House has not blocked release of records from Mr. Roberts' service in the Justice Department and White House Counsel's Office during the Reagan years. They are expected to try to block release of some of Mr. Roberts' documents from the first Bush Administration, when abortion was a major topic.

Q: From your reporting, do you detect any relationship between the timing of the nomination and the CIA leak case?

That's a tough one. Republicans close to the White House say the announcement was moved up to change the subject. Conservative groups mobilizing to defend the White House Supreme Court nominee said they were expecting the announcement to come a week later, as well. But the White House says the two are not related.