Roberts Sidesteps Meaty Issues for Now

WASHINGTON - John Roberts closed out four days of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday the way he began it — affable, unhurried, and firmly unwilling to say how he would rule on the issues senators care about most.

The 50-year-old appeals court judge, nominated to succeed the late William Rehnquist as chief justice, declined again and again to offer his views on abortion, assisted suicide, wartime presidential power or the reach of Congress, saying each could come before the court.

"My obligation is to the Constitution and the laws, not to any agenda," Roberts told the panel. "I will confront every case with an open mind."

He did allow that the Constitution protects a right to privacy, calling it part of liberty under the 14th Amendment — an answer Democrats called encouraging but insufficient. He refused to say whether the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision establishing abortion rights was correctly decided or whether he would vote to revisit it.

Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., pressed Roberts repeatedly on whether the court had grown too quick to strike down acts of Congress. Roberts answered with citations, not commitments, at one point discussing 200-year-old cases from memory without notes.

Democrats expressed frustration. "We have been treated to a seminar in constitutional law," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. "What we have not gotten are answers."

Republicans praised what Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the nominee's "brilliant, flawless" performance and predicted easy confirmation. The committee is expected to vote next week; GOP leaders plan a full Senate vote before the court's new term opens Oct. 3.

Outside witnesses testified Thursday on both sides — civil rights groups opposing the nomination over Roberts' record as a Reagan administration lawyer, and law school colleagues and former clerks attesting to his fairness.

Roberts would be the youngest chief justice in two centuries. If confirmed, he could serve for 30 years or more, a prospect that colored every exchange in the hearing room.

With Republicans holding 55 Senate seats, Democratic leaders concede they lack the votes to block the nomination unless a filibuster materializes — something only a few senators have raised.