Democrats seek view on Roe from Roberts

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Two key Senate Democrats yesterday said that federal Judge John G. Roberts Jr. will have a hard time being confirmed to the Supreme Court if he doesn't publicly state his position on past court cases such as the one that established abortion rights.

Vermont Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said he doubts that Judge Roberts can be confirmed unless he agrees that Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 abortion case -- is "settled law."

And in a speech yesterday at the National Press Club, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat and committee member, listed three "troubling" pitfalls that could upend Judge Roberts' nomination. The No. 2 pitfall was Judge Roberts' reluctance to discuss specific Supreme Court cases -- even ones that might resurface before the court.

Republicans responded that the statements were hypocritical and called the comments proof that some Democrats are using a single-issue "litmus test" to determine Judge Roberts' fitness for the bench.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) issued a press statement accompanied by several quotes condemning litmus tests made by Mr. Leahy when President Clinton, a fellow Democrat, was in the White House.

"Senator Leahy's eagerness to embrace the very litmus tests he has opposed in the past is the height of hypocrisy," RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman said. "It is clear that Senator Leahy is more concerned with appeasing the left wing of his party than giving John Roberts a fair confirmation hearing."

In an interview broadcast yesterday on Vermont Public Radio, Mr. Leahy said he would vote against Judge Roberts if he determines that the nominee would pursue the same "active" agenda as conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

"I want to find out if he's going to be as active as this -- as people like Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas, who have almost willy-nilly overruled things," he said, according to an Associated Press report from Vermont.

Specifically, Mr. Leahy said, Judge Roberts will have a hard time being confirmed if he doesn't pledge to uphold Roe v. Wade, which declared abortion a constitutional right.

"I don't see how somebody who said they didn't consider Roe v. Wade settled law ... I don't see how they get confirmed," he said. Mr. Leahy compared the primacy of Roe to Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed racial segregation.