Roberts Documents Reveal Opinions on Judiciary and Abortion
Recently released documents reveal the opinions of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts regarding an 'ivory tower' federal judiciary, and the 'abortion tragedy.'
Recently released documents provide a glimpse of the opinions of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts on various topics including an "ivory tower" federal judiciary and the "so-called right to privacy."
The various memos were a few among the more than 50,000 pages of documents released last week by the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library, which covered John Roberts’ tenure as a special assistant to the Justice Department from 1981 to 1982 and later as an associate counsel to the president from 1982 to 1986, according to the Washington Post.
Roberts, now 50, stated in an October 1983 memo that the federal judiciary “usurps” power from other branches of government while judges lived in an “ivory tower existence.”
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In a document addressed to his boss, White House counsel Fred F. Fielding, Roberts wrote, "The federal judiciary today benefits from an insulation from political pressure even as it usurps the role of the political branches."
In the document he said he would support an effort to limit federal judges’ time on the bench instead of having them receive lifetime appointments so they “would not lose all touch with reality through decades of ivory tower existence.”
In another document, Roberts wrote about the “so-called right to privacy,” which is the current legal basis for the right to abortion and a point of contention in the debate over issue.
In the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that legalized abortion, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote in the majority opinion that the right to privacy is "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."
However the understanding of that right is qualified, allowing the legislature to set limits on late term, or “partial birth” abortions.
In 1985, documents show that Roberts had called a memorial service proposed by doctors with a pro-life stance in California, “an entirely appropriate means of calling attention to the abortion tragedy.”
As the principal deputy solicitor general from 1989 to 1993, Roberts co-wrote a brief saying that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Some observers, however, note that those statements do not necessarily reflect Roberts’ views since he made them on behalf of clients.
Also, when Roberts spoke in appellate court confirmation hearings before the Senate in 2003, Roberts said he considered Roe v. Wade “settled law.”
As an appeals court judge, Roberts was to be bound by Supreme Court precedent. However, if confirmed as Justice he could overturn previous decisions.
