John Roberts in Slate.com


On Environment: No lawsuits to prevent mining on federal land

When Roberts was the government's lead counsel before the Supreme Court in Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation, he successfully argued that members of the environmental group did not have a right to file claims against 4,500 acres of public land being opened to mining. The court agreed, making it harder for plaintiffs to challenge government actions that hurt the environment.
Source: Slate.com Jul 19, 2005

On Abortion: Doctors who get federal fund may not mention abortion

For Bush Senior, Roberts successfully helped argue that doctors and clinics receiving federal funds may not talk to patients about abortion. (Rust v. Sullivan, 1991)
Source: Emily Bazelon and David Newman, Slate.com Jul 1, 2005

On Abortion: Prohibit family-planning programs from giving abortion info

In Rust v. Sullivan, the then-deputy solicitor general coauthored a brief in support of regulations prohibiting US family planning programs, which get federal aid, from giving any abortion-related counseling. In that brief, he wrote: "We continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled. The Court's conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion finds no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution." The court upheld those regulations.
Source: Slate.com Jul 19, 2005

On Abortion: Ok for Operation Rescue to target abortion clinics

In a case involving the Operation Rescue, Roberts coauthored the government's amicus brief supporting the group's right to target clinics, under the First Amendment, arguing that Operation Rescue was not engaged in a conspiracy to deny women equal protection.
Source: Slate.com Jul 19, 2005

On Abortion: Roe v. Wade is settled law

In his confirmation hearing in 2003 to the appeals court, when asked about abortion, Roberts said that the Supreme Court was clear on the matter, and he could uphold it: "Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land," he said. "There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent." Whether as a member of the court he would try to change that law remains to be seen.
Source: Slate.com Jul 19, 2005

On Civil Rights: Opposed simplifying complaints against voting rights

For Reagan, Roberts opposed a congressional effort-in the wake of the 1980 Supreme Court decision Mobile v. Bolden-to make it easier for minorities to successfully argue that their votes had been diluted under the Voting Rights Act.
Source: Emily Bazelon and David Newman, Slate.com Jul 1, 2005

On Civil Rights: Weaken the separation of church and state

For Bush Senior, Roberts co-authored a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that public high-school graduation programs could include religious ceremonies. The Supreme Court disagreed by a vote of 5-4. (Lee v. Weisman, 1992)
Source: Emily Bazelon and David Newman, Slate.com Jul 1, 2005

On Civil Rights: No paper trail as a judge on gay rights issues

Gay rights advocates like the Human Rights Campaign say that Roberts has no paper trail on the issue as a judge. But they fear that his conservative Republican record, including his criticism of the right to privacy authorized by Roe, bodes badly for them.
Source: Slate.com Jul 19, 2005

On Civil Rights: Ok for religious groups to meet at schools

Roberts has argued on behalf of his clients for the expansion of religion in public schools. In a coauthored brief to the Supreme Court in Lee v. Weisman, he argued that religious ceremonies should be allowed to be a part of graduation ceremonies. The Supreme Court rejected that position. But Roberts successfully argued to the court that religious groups should not be banned from meeting on school grounds in the case of Mergens v. Westside Community School District.
Source: Slate.com Jul 19, 2005

On Drugs: Ok to search cars without particular evidence in mind

Joined a unanimous opinion ruling that a police officer who searched the trunk of a car without saying that he was looking for evidence of a crime (the standard for constitutionality) still conducted the search legally, because there was a reasonable basis to think contraband was in the trunk, regardless of whether the officer was thinking in those terms. (U.S. v. Brown, 2004)
Source: Emily Bazelon and David Newman, Slate.com Jul 1, 2005

On Environment: Species within one state not protected by federal law

Roberts voted for rehearing in a case about whether a developer had to take down a fence so that the arroyo toad could move freely through its habitat. Roberts argued that the panel was wrong to rule against the developer because the regulations on behalf of the toad, promulgated under the Endangered Species Act, overstepped the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce. At the end of his opinion, Roberts suggested that rehearing would allow the court to "consider alternative grounds" for protecting the toad that are "more consistent with Supreme Court precedent." (Rancho Viejo v. Nortion, 2003)
Source: Emily Bazelon and David Newman, Slate.com Jul 1, 2005

The above quotations are from Slate.com centrist opinion and analysis website.
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