From FoxNews: Roberts Grilled on Abortion, Civil Rights.
Supreme Court chief justice nominee John Roberts on Tuesday declined to give his opinion on the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which effectively legalized abortion in the U.S. Roberts did say, however, that legal precedent already set by the court is a "very important consideration."Posted by Forkum at September 13, 2005 05:49 PM"I think it is a jolt to the legal system when you overturn precedent. ... It is not enough that you may think that a prior decision was wrongly decided," Roberts said during the first round of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Roberts also battled with lawmakers like Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., over what types of questions he should or should not be answering.
Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., opened the day's confirmation hearings with myriad questions about court rulings regarding a woman's right to choose, privacy and prior court rulings.
While Roberts said he was more than willing to answer questions regarding the importance of abiding by prior court rulings, he said he would not get into detail about the application of those rulings to potential future cases.
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