Washington - President Bush on Tuesday named John G. Roberts Jr., a federal appellate judge, as his choice to fill the Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a nomination expected to bolster the court's conservative majority if accepted by the Senate.
Roberts, 50, argued conservative positions on abortion and other issues before the Supreme Court during his years as a lawyer for Republican administrations, but his two years of service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has provided him with a limited judicial record.
"He has a good heart," Bush said in a prime-time announcement from the East Room of the White House. "He has the qualities Americans expect in a judge: experience, wisdom, fairness and civility."
In addition to his law practice and judicial experience, Roberts once worked as a clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, as associate White House counsel for former President Reagan, and principal deputy solicitor general under Kenneth W. Starr, who later became the Whitewater prosecutor during President Clinton's term.
O'Connor was a swing vote on abortion and other issues before the court, and so Bush's selection to succeed her has the potential to set off a contentious confirmation process and intensify an already noisy political debate between conservative and liberal advocacy groups. That debate began immediately Tuesday, with conservatives cheering Roberts' nomination, and anti-abortion and liberal groups announcing they could not support him.
Barbara Listing, president of Right to Life of Michigan, said she didn't know Roberts' personal views or whether she agrees with the nomination.
"He is someone who believes in judicial restraint," she said. "The right-to-life movement would do well with a judge who shows judicial restraint."
But it remained unclear how divisive the fight over Roberts' confirmation would be in Congress and whether Senate Democrats would attempt to block the nomination through a filibuster.
Confirmation hearings could begin as early as the final week of August.
If confirmed, Roberts appears likely to expand the court's conservative wing, anchored by Rehnquist.
One focal point in the debate over Roberts is likely to be a brief he wrote in 1990 as deputy solicitor general. "We continue to believe that Roe (v. Wade) was wrongly decided and should be overruled ? 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." Roe v. Wade is the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance President and CEO Lori Lamerand said Planned Parenthood isn't taking a stance on his nomination at this point, but she has concerns about it.
"His nomination certainly raises serious concerns about women's health and safety," she said. "He could be the person who affects the decision in the long run."
But it seems unlikely that his appointment would by itself create a new majority favoring reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling -- which appears to have the support of six justices, including O'Connor.
Criminal justice Professor Christopher E. Smith said he suspects Roberts will be a dependable conservative.
"Personality wise he should get along with everybody, which is a plus for conservatives," he said. "There are a lot of reasons to think the Supreme Court might do a 180 (with abortion)."
Smith also said the court might change its rulings in other ways as well.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we see some incremental increase in police authority that would coincide with a loss of some individual rights," he said.
Roberts joined in a ruling upholding police trunk searches even when officers did not assert evidence of a crime and another that said police did not violate the constitutional rights of a 12-year-old girl who was arrested, handcuffed and detained for eating a French fry inside a train station.
Roberts once urged the Supreme Court to rule that public schools could sponsor prayer at graduation ceremonies. The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday expressed "deep concern" that Roberts, while serving as principal deputy solicitor general from 1989-93, had backed the criminalization of flag burning as a form of political protest.
In choosing Roberts for a job, which some have served beyond age 80, Bush could leave an imprint on U.S. law, politics and culture well after the end of his presidency. Supreme Court justices receive lifetime appointments, and the court lineup has remained unchanged for 11 years.
Bush will probably have another opportunity to influence the Supreme Court before the end of his presidency. Although Rehnquist said he intends to stay on the court "as long as my health permits," few court observers expect the jurist, who is battling thyroid cancer, to remain long on the bench.
Staff writer Nick Pelton contributed to this report.
