E-mail this page to a friend

Printer-Friendly Version

Contact: Cindy Roberts (662) 844-5036 ext. 227
For Immediate Release:  7/20/2005

President nominates Roberts for Supreme Court

(Tupelo, MS) - President Bush nominated John G. Roberts, Jr. yesterday to fill the vacancy on the high court created by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s recent resignation. Mr. Bush said Judge Robert will "strictly apply the Constitution and laws -- not legislate from the bench."

Mr. Roberts, a Harvard trained lawyer and judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals, has a stellar record. He served in President Ronald Reagan's Justice Department and was deputy solicitor general in the first President Bush's administration. Before being appointed to the court of appeals, he argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, winning twenty-five of them.

Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, believes Judge Roberts is an excellent choice: “He was an extraordinary lawyer, and I am persuaded he will be an exceptional justice. President Bush, in my opinion, has kept his promise to nominate an individual who will interpret, not rewrite the Constitution.”

Fahling noted that as deputy solicitor in the Reagan Administration, Roberts had argued in a brief that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, but that in his confirmation hearings to the court of appeals, Roberts stated that Roe v. Wade is settled law that he would faithfully apply as a judge. “These are not inconsistent positions,” said Fahling. “They reflect a consistent and principled jurisprudence that understands the principle of authority and the rule of law.”

Fahling explained that “as a government lawyer, Roberts could argue that Roe should be reversed, but as an appellate court judge, he held an office under the ultimate authority, by constitutional design, of the Supreme Court. He had no authority to reverse Roe as an appellate court judge, but if confirmed as a Supreme Court justice he will have that constitutional authority.”

American Family Association is a pro-family advocacy organization with over two million online supporters.

— 30 —