Roberts Hearings Postponed
The Senate Judiciary Committee will open confirmation hearings next Monday for president Bush's nominee to succeed the late chief justice, William Rehnquist. NPR's Nina Totenberg says it appears that Roberts, initially nominated as an associate justice, has long been considered a candidate for chief justice.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Mourners will pay their respects to Chief Justice William Rehnquist today as he lies in repose at the Supreme Court. His funeral is tomorrow. President Bush announced yesterday that John Roberts is his choice to succeed William Rehnquist as chief justice. Joining me now is NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.
Good morning, Nina.
NINA TOTENBERG reporting:
Morning, Renee.
MONTAGNE: The John Roberts hearings have been postponed. Tell us about that.
TOTENBERG: Well, as we all know, initially they were supposed to start today, but Democrats had already been asking that they be postponed because of Katrina. The White House, even after the chief justice died, appeared to be adamant that they wanted the hearings to continue as scheduled pretty much, perhaps with a recess for the funeral. And then they came to learn that there is a Senate rule that requires the postponement of a week if it is requested by a senator when a new hearing is noticed. And because the nomination of John Roberts to be an associate justice had to be withdrawn and then he had to be renominated as chief justice, that rule can be invoked. And therefore, everything came in play and it seems very likely now that they hearings will start on Monday, although they could conceivably begin at the end of the week. But Monday seems the likely time now, that we're just going to move everything forward one week.
MONTAGNE: And it was less than two days after Chief Justice Rehnquist died that President Bush nominated John Roberts to succeed him. Do you think he had this in mind all along?
TOTENBERG: It appears he did have this in mind all along because everybody thought that Chief Justice Rehnquist would be the one to retire this term. Indeed, we now find that Justice O'Connor thought he would, asked him if he would, and the chief justice said he thought he could last another year. And she decided then that she would retire this term so that there wouldn't be two vacancies. Of course that ended up being what happened when the chief died. But back in April, before anybody had retired and everybody expected the chief justice would retire because he was ill, John Roberts was interviewed at the White House, this according to the White House. So it appears this was in mind all along. And then when we had this sudden vacancy and this national disaster going on, the president apparently decided he simply didn't have the time or inclination to mess around about this, that Roberts was likely to be confirmed and that this was the path of least resistance.
MONTAGNE: Now Justice O'Connor had announced she would stay on the bench until someone was confirmed for her seat. Do we know if she'll remain?
TOTENBERG: She told the president in a telephone conversation that she would, but, as she put it, there are some surprising dilemmas because if she sits and hears cases and her replacement is then confirmed, her vote is null and void. So it's not entirely clear how she will proceed.
MONTAGNE: Well, is there any sense of the timing of an appointment to fill her seat?
TOTENBERG: The president said he would move swiftly. And I'm sure he will not nominate somebody until after the Roberts hearings are completed. But I would assume that about that time, we would expect to get some word.
MONTAGNE: Now how different, if different at all, will the confirmation hearings for John Roberts be now that he's been nominated to run the court as well as run the federal judiciary?
TOTENBERG: They'll be a little more thorough, one suspects. The Democrats have gotten more cautious rather than less cautious, and so they'll probably ask again, try again to get some papers of his that have been withheld.
MONTAGNE: And Nina, just finally, based on what we know about Judge Roberts and assuming that he's confirmed, what kind of chief justice would he make?
TOTENBERG: Well, he's been on the court as a law clerk, he knows the place, he's going to be the youngest chief justice since John Marshall in 1802. I would imagine he will be a very influential and--the kind of justice whose ideology doesn't get in the way of his good relations with other justices. And thus, he will be an extremely influential chief justice.
MONTAGNE: NPR legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg. Thank you very much.
There's a profile of John Roberts at npr.org.
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