Roberts confirmed to lead Supreme Court

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – John Roberts, a 50-year-old
conservative, was sworn in on Thursday as the 17th chief
justice of the United States, a lifetime job that positions him
to help shape the American way of life for decades.

In a White House ceremony, Roberts took the oath as the
youngest chief justice in two centuries — just hours after the
Republican-led Senate confirmed him with significant Democratic
support as President George W. Bush’s first nominee to the
Supreme Court, the nation’s final legal arbiter.

“The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and a
kind heart,” Bush told a gathering that included members of
Roberts’ family, fellow justices and Senate leaders.

The president is expected to soon name a second Supreme
Court nominee, one likely to face a tougher fight since the
often divided court’s ideological balance will be at stake.

Roberts, a federal appeals judge the past two years,
thanked Bush for nominating him and the Senate for confirming
him on a bipartisan vote of 78-22. Half of the 44 Democrats and
the one independent joined the chamber’s 55 Republicans in
backing him.

“I view the vote this morning as confirmation of what is,
for me, a bedrock principle — that judging is different from
politics,” Roberts said.

With the court set to begin its new term on Monday, Roberts
will replace William Rehnquist, who died on September 3 after
being the high court’s conservative anchor for 33 years.

With Roberts at the helm, the nine-member court will
confront such matters as environmental protection, campaign
finance law, voting rights, gay rights, abortion rights and
workers’ rights.

‘THE ROBERTS ERA’

“The Supreme Court will embark upon a new era in its
history — the Roberts era,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist, a Tennessee Republican.

Roberts is widely regarded as one of the nation’s top
lawyers. He had been a member of the U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia since 2003, and served in
the Reagan administration and first Bush administration.

Democratic foes agreed Roberts was brilliant but questioned
if his heart was as big as his intellect and feared he may
steer the court to right.

At his Senate confirmation hearing, Roberts sought to ease
concerns, declaring he was not an ideologue and vowing to
strictly interpret the Constitution.

The next nominee would seek to replace retiring Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor, a moderate conservative who has been a
swing vote on the often bitterly divided panel.

“It is my hope that the president will now send us a
nominee for Justice O’Connor’s spot in the mold of Judge
Roberts,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen
Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican.

Some Republicans were heartened that half the Senate
Democrats voted for Roberts and said Bush may be emboldened to
offer an even more conservative nominee the second time.

But Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who opposed
Roberts, said lawmakers voted their consciences and that Bush
should name a mainstream candidate.

“Now more than ever we need a consensus nominee,” said
Schumer.

Opponents had questioned Roberts’ commitment to civil
rights and women’s rights, based largely on memos he wrote
while a young attorney in the Reagan administration.

They also complained about his refusal at his confirmation
hearing to disclose how he might rule on some hot-button issues
such as abortion rights.

Roberts testified it would be improper to prejudge cases
that might come before him and that the old memos reflected the
opinions of a Republican administration.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, ranking Democrat on the
Judiciary Committee that held the confirmation hearing, voted
for Roberts, saying: “He is a man of integrity. I have taken
him at his word that he does not have an ideological agenda and
will be his own man. I hope that he will, and I trust that he
will.”

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria, Steve Holland
and Donna Smith)