Roberts' Record on Civil Rights Enters Battle Over Supreme Court Nomination

The battle over Supreme Court nominee John Roberts is heating up. In Washington, questions are being raised over Roberts’ role in the civil rights debates of the 1980s. On Tuesday, the White House released 15,000 pages of documents stemming from Roberts service as an attorney for the Reagan administration. The documents show that Roberts advocated a narrow interpretation of a variety of civil rights laws, and presented a defense of congressional efforts to strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction over busing, abortion and school prayer cases.

Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy said Thursday the documents made public so far indicate Roberts holds a "rather cramped view of the Voting Rights Act." Aides to Kennedy distributed materials that Roberts drafted while at the Justice Department and White House counsel’s office during the Reagan administration. The documents show Roberts expressing criticism of an extension of the voting rights act, support for a court ruling narrowing the civil rights requirements on colleges, and doubts about a law to combat discrimination in housing.

Civil rights leaders are joining with Democrats who are calling on the White House to release more documents related to Roberts’s work as a government lawyer. The White House said they will refuse to release any of the documents from Roberts’ tenure as deputy solicitor general under the first President Bush, describing the content of the papers as confidential legal advice.

The White House and Senate Republicans are demanding a final confirmation vote before the Supreme Court begins its new term on October 3rd.

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