Roberts Is Supreme Court Pick

President Bush named federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. for a seat on the Supreme Court Tuesday, delighting Republicans while unsettling some Democrats with the selection of a young jurist with impeccable conservative credentials.

"John Roberts has devoted his entire professional life to the cause of justice," Bush said in a prime-time announcement at the White House, "and is widely admired for his intellect his sound judgment and his personal decency."

If confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, the 50-year-old Roberts would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has long been a swing vote on a court divided narrowly on issues such as abortion, affirmative action, states' rights and the death penalty.

Roberts stood at Bush's side as the president heaped praise on him, calling him "one of the finest legal minds" in the country.

The president said he had recently spoken with Senate leaders of both parties and said they "share my goal" of confirmation proceedings conducted with dignity and fairness.

In brief remarks, Roberts said it "is both an honor and very humbling to be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court." He said he has argued numerous cases before the high court during his career, adding, "I always got a lump in my throat whenever I walked up those marble steps to argue a case before the court, and I don't think it was just from the nerves."

A senior administration official told CBS News that the president consulted with more than 70 members of the Senate and interviewed five candidates. The official said that Mr. Bush met with Roberts at the White House for an hour on Friday before making his decision.

Roberts has been on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since June 2003 after being picked for that seat by Bush.

CBS News Correspondent Barry Bagnato reports that Roberts does not have nationwide name recognition, but in Republican circles, he is a known commodity with an impressive resume. Only 50, Roberts could be a force on the high court for decades.

Advocacy groups on the right say that Roberts, a 50-year-old native of Buffalo, N.Y., who attended Harvard Law School, is a bright judge with strong conservative credentials he burnished in the administrations of former Presidents Bush and Reagan. While he has been a federal judge for just a little more than two years, legal experts say that whatever experience he lacks on the bench is offset by his many years arguing cases before the Supreme Court.

Liberal groups, however, say Roberts has taken positions in cases involving free speech and religious liberty that endanger those rights.

CBS News reports that Democrats initially responded that Roberts has "suitable legal credentials" but that the Senate Judiciary Committee will have to carefully review his record.

"The Senate must review Judge Roberts's record to determine if he has a demonstrated commitment to the core American values of freedom, equality and fairness," said Senator Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

NARAL has already opposed the nomination of Roberts, calling the judge "a divisive nominee with a record of seeking to impose a political agenda on the courts."

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he is concerned that questions are already being raised about Roberts.

"At the minimum people ought to let him be heard and review his record," said Specter. "I'm surprised that he's already subject to criticism but this is America."

Abortion rights groups allege that Roberts is hostile to women's reproductive freedom and cite a brief he co-wrote in 1990 that suggested the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 high court decision that legalized abortion.

"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 brief said.

In his defense, Roberts told senators during his 2003 confirmation hearing that he would be guided by legal precedent. "Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land. ... There is nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

While he doesn't have national name recognition, Roberts is a Washington insider who has worked over the years at the White House, Justice Department and in private practice.

In the Reagan administration, Roberts was special assistant to the attorney general and associate counsel to the president. Between 1989 and 1993, he was principal deputy solicitor general,the government's second highest lawyer who argues cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the early 1980s, Roberts was a clerk for Rehnquist before Reagan elevated the retiring jurist to the top chair in 1986.

It was Rehnquist who presided over the swearing-in ceremony when Roberts took his seat on the appeals court for the District of Columbia. It took a while for Roberts to get on the bench. He was nominated for the court in 1992 by the first President Bush and again by the president in 2001. The nominations died in the Senate both times. He was renominated in January 2003 and joined the court in June 2003.

Roberts' nomination to the appellate court attracted support from both sites of the ideological spectrum. Some 126 members of the District of Columbia Bar, including officials of the Clinton administration, signed a letter urging his confirmation. The letter said Roberts was one of the "very best and most highly respected appellate lawyers in the nation" and that his reputation as a "brilliant writer and oral advocate" was well deserved.

"He has been a judge for only two years and authored about 40 opinions, only three of which have drawn any dissent," said Wendy Long, a lawyer representing the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, adding that his record appears to suit Bush's desire to nominate a judge who will apply the law, as written, and leave policy decisions to the elected branches of government.