U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE
JOHN G. ROBERTS JR.

ASSOCIATED PRESS President Bush and U.S. Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. spoke at the White House yesterday. Bush chose the federal appeals court judge as his first nominee for the high court. Roberts is a conservative whose bid could trigger a tumultuous battle.

Who is he?

The former attorney represented
the state in Rice v. Cayetano

President Bush's first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court has firsthand knowledge of native Hawaiian issues.

Federal appeals Judge John G. Roberts Jr. represented the state of Hawaii in the controversial voting rights case Rice v. Cayetano.

Then an attorney with the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson, Roberts unsuccessfully argued before the high court that voting for Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees could be limited to Hawaiians because of their special status with the federal government, similar to American Indians and their tribal elections.

When the Supreme Court struck down the voting restriction as unlawful racial discrimination in February 2000, Roberts told the Star-Bulletin that the decision "could have been worse. The good news is that the majority's opinion was very narrowly written and expressly did not call into question the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the public trust for the benefit of Hawaiians and native Hawaiians, but only the particular voting mechanism by which trustees are selected."

Honolulu attorney Sherry Broder said yesterday that "he's someone who has represented native Hawaiian people and the state of Hawaii. I'm glad to see he has that kind of a background.

"He is obviously very bright," said Broder, who represented OHA in the Rice case that went before the high court on Oct. 6, 1999. She was one of the local attorneys who briefed Roberts in the case.

"We generally went over the different points to be made. It was very exciting to watch" the case presented to the Supreme Court, she said. "He was very quick on his feet."

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano noted: "He did about as good a job as could be done under the circumstances. I was not optimistic about the state's chance in Rice."

State Sen. Clayton Hee (D Kahuku-Kaneohe), who was OHA board chairman in 1999, said: "I met him and was there during the Supreme Court argument. It says something about him that he has some knowledge about indigenous people.

"Of course, coming up on the short end, I thought he could have made more compelling arguments. I presume he tried his best, but it wasn't to be."

The state picked Roberts because he had experience before the high court and had taken Native American cases, said Deputy Attorney General Girard Lau, who also watched the Supreme Court presentation: "He was clearly one of the most brilliant appellate advocates in the country, one of the most experienced before the Supreme Court.

"In terms of dealing with him, he was a real gentleman, not aggressive or arrogant. I have a lot of respect for his intellect and his character," said Lau.

Roberts spent the summer of 1978 as a law clerk with the Honolulu firm of Carlsmith, Carlsmith, Wichman & Case (now Carlsmith, Ball, Wichman, Case & Ichiki), according to his resume.

Isle congressmen
scrutinize nominee

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye:

"As a United States senator, I take very seriously my responsibility to carefully consider any nominee to the Supreme Court, and I will not rush to a quick decision.

"As a general rule, I am inclined to support a president's nominee -- but that does not mean I will be a rubber stamp. The nominee must be able to meet the highest judicial and ethical standards and must be committed to upholding the Constitution."

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka:

He said he is familiar with Roberts' current term on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. "However, this is a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Supreme Court and should receive greater scrutiny to ensure that he will represent justice."

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie:

He said President Bush's choice could be seen as a strategic move to avoid Senate confirmation problems that have plagued Bush's past nominees because Roberts was confirmed earlier. He also said Roberts was not a staunch, "in-your-face" conservative and that could upset the conservative wing of the Republican party.

U.S. Rep. Ed Case:

It is hard "to come to terms that there will be a Supreme Court nominee who is younger than me." Case is 52. Roberts is 50.

Case said he believes that Roberts has the confidence, character and experience to be on the nation's highest court. "The toughest part is whether he has the judicial temperament to fulfill the highest level of the judicial system."