“Most Supreme Courts were not populated by people who spent a lot of time on the judiciary,” he said. “They were mostly political appointments. Most chiefs have come from off the court rather than on the court. In the past, the Chief Justice was often a fairly substantial politician like Governor Earl Warren or John Marshall, who was Secretary of State. Someone with so little political or judicial standing has rarely been appointed to the chief justiceship.”
Roberts has experienced a meteoric rise to the top since he arrived at Harvard in the fall of 1973. He graduated summa cum laude in History in just three years and went on to graduate magna cum laude from HLS while serving as the Managing Editor of The Harvard Law Review. He went on to clerk for Circuit Judge Henry Friendly and Rehnquist, when Rehnquist was an associate justice on the Supreme Court.
Roberts went on to work in the Justice Department, serving as Deputy Solicitor General—one of the government’s main lawyers before the Supreme Court—and later had a private practice. By the time President Bush appointed him to the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2002, Roberts had argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court and was known as one of the finest appellate litigators in the land.
Since he was tapped for O’Connor’s seat in July, Roberts has managed to weather the grueling scrutiny typical of a Supreme Court nomination. Thousands of documents have been released from government archives, and Roberts was given the highest rating of “well qualified” by the American Bar Association. Although several liberal interest groups voiced their opposition, no senators came out against him and many experts said that, barring some revelation during confirmation hearings, Roberts’ confirmation was all but assured.
But now that he has been nominated to chief justice, his candidacy will likely become more contentious. Immediately after the announcement, Democrats and Republicans alike came out divided over the timing of the hearings.
“It is in the interest of the Court and the country to have a chief justice on the bench on the first full day of the fall term,” Bush said at the announcement. “The Senate is well along in the process of considering Judge Roberts' qualifications. They know his record and his fidelity to the law. I'm confident that the Senate can complete hearings and confirm him as chief justice within a month.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., echoed Bush’s sentiments, saying that "the President has made an excellent choice; Mr. Roberts is one of the most well qualified candidates to come before the Senate. He will be an excellent chief. I still expect Judge Roberts to be confirmed before the Supreme Court starts its new term on Oct. 3."
However, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56, D-Mass., who serves on the Judiciary Committee, said that the Senate would need more time.
“Before the Senate acts on John Roberts’ new nomination, we should know even more about his record, and we should know whom the president intends to propose to nominate as a replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor,” he said. “The American people care deeply about the overall balance of their highest court, and its dedication to the protection of their rights.”
Had the hearings progressed as scheduled this week, the Judiciary Committee would have heard from Roberts and 30 other witnesses, 15 called by each party. Due to the desire of top senators to have a speedy confirmation hearing, no character witnesses who knew Roberts as a student were to be called. However, Beneficial Professor of Law Charles Fried, a former Solicitor General, was slated to be a witness.
With Rehnquist’s seat filled, Bush will now have to choose another replacement for O’Connor, and two distinguished lawyers with Harvard ties are said to be at the top of his short list.
The first is Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, who received a degree from HLS in 1982. Gonzales, who previously served as White House Counsel, has long been a close friend and confidant of the president. The son of Mexican immigrants, Gonzales grew up in a poor household that did not even have a telephone until he was in high school.
However, groups on both sides of the political spectrum oppose Gonzales. Right-wing groups want a stronger conservative to replace O’Connor, and many liberals object to some of his work as Attorney General and White House Counsel, which included taking part in discussions justifying the torture of prisoners.
The other potential nominee is Learned Hand Professor of Law Mary Ann Glendon, who has been on the faculty at HLS since 1986. Loeb University Professor Laurence H. Tribe ’62 told the Crimson in July that Glendon “would be an inspired if unlikely choice.”
A noted legal scholar, Glendon teaches classes on human rights, legal theory, and comparative law, and has authored several books, including “Abortion and Divorce in Western Law.” A devout Catholic, she has been appointed to several positions by the Vatican including heading the Vatican delegation to the Fourth U.N. Women's Conference in 1995.
“Mary Ann is an extraordinary scholar, teacher, and colleague,” HLS Dean Elena Kagan said in July. “She makes Harvard Law School a better place every day she's here, and she would be hugely missed if she were to leave us for the judiciary.”
—Staff writer Adam M. Guren can be reached at guren@fas.harvard.edu