Roberts tells senators he would respect precedent
He also vows to avoid legislating on bench
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court nominee, Judge John G. Roberts Jr., told senators yesterday that he would respect judicial precedents and would refrain from encroaching on the role of the legislative branch if he is confirmed to the high court, in response to written questions submitted by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Roberts was not asked and did not say how he would view any specific court precedents; such questions are likely to be asked later in the process by individual senators.
But Democratic senators have served notice that they will probe Roberts on the issue of precedents -- particularly his regard for court decisions establishing rights to privacy and abortion -- so his opinions on the subject are being closely monitored.
''A judge needs the humility to appreciate that he is not necessarily the first person to confront a particular issue," Roberts wrote in his first extended explanation of his judicial philosophy since Bush nominated him on July 19. ''Precedent plays an important role in promoting the stability of the legal system, and a sound judicial philosophy should reflect recognition of the fact that the judge operates within a system of rules developed over the years by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath."
Providing fresh details of his involvement in the 2000 Florida recount, Roberts said he had traveled to Tallahassee shortly after the election at the request of Bush-Cheney lawyers Benjamin L. Ginsburg and R. Ted Cruz, and said he had stayed for ''less than one week."
''I recall participating in a preparation session for another lawyer scheduled to appear before the Florida Supreme Court and generally being available to discuss issues as they arose," Roberts wrote. ''I returned to Tallahassee at some later point to meet with Governor Jeb Bush, to discuss in a general way the constitutional and statutory provisions implicated by the litigation."
In addition, Roberts reported serving on lawyers' committees for the George W. Bush-Dick Cheney ticket in 2000, as well as for the George H.W. Bush-Dan Quayle Republican ticket in 1988. His disclosures were made in 84 pages submitted yesterday to the 19-member Senate Judiciary Committee. They were made public yesterday afternoon.
Senators did not immediately respond to the questionnaire last night, since it was received late in the day and lawmakers are scattered across the country for a monthlong summer recess. But Democratic Senate aides said several items raised questions that are likely to be probed further.
Though Republican senators and members of the Bush administration have said Roberts should not be asked about specific cases, he said in the questionnaire that it is ''difficult to comment on either 'judicial activism' or 'judicial restraint' in the abstract, without reference to the particular facts and applicable law of a specific case." One aide said that may embolden Democrats on the Judiciary Committee to press Roberts on his specific views on previously settled cases such as Roe v. Wade.
Another area likely to be probed is Roberts's lobbying work for two organizations representing peanut growers. The lobbying could be of interest in trying to determine what legislation he was engaged to promote or defeat.
Roberts said that he did not recall having met with any government officials on the peanut-growers' matters, and that he had filed a lobbying disclosure form ''perhaps in an excess of caution." The form he submitted yesterday did not mention lobbying he performed on behalf of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association -- work disclosed by his firm in 2001.
Roberts also offers a window into the White House's selection process, and indicates how early President Bush was collecting information on candidates.
Roberts reported being interviewed for the post by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, Bush's former White House counsel, on April 1 -- three months before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her intention to retire -- but more than five months after the Supreme Court announced on Oct. 25 that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was battling thyroid cancer.
On May 3, Roberts was interviewed by a group that included Vice President Dick Cheney, Gonzales, Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr., White House counsel Harriet Miers, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis ''Scooter" Libby. He had several subsequent conversations with Miers and deputy counsel William K. Kelley, and met privately with Bush and Miers on July 15 -- four days before Bush named him to the post.
When asked about whether anyone involved in selecting him for the Supreme Court had sought ''any express or implied assurances concerning your position" on a case or issue, Roberts replied with a one-word answer: ''No."
Roberts also appeared to downplay his role as principal deputy solicitor general in the George H. W. Bush administration. Roberts wrote that he was charged with ''participating in the government's determination whether to appeal adverse decisions in the lower courts," and cautioned that the solicitor general himself made final decisions.
That description appears to be at odds with the 1991 resume he submitted for a judgeship, in which he said he ''had final responsibility for determining whether the United States would seek further review of adverse decisions in some 380 cases." His role in the solicitor general's office is emerging as a key point in a disagreement between Democrats and the White House over whether documents from his time in that office should be made public.
Roberts also sought to clarify his involvement in the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization that listed him as a member of its Washington Lawyers Steering Committee in 1997.
''I have no recollection on serving on that committee, or being a member of the society," Roberts wrote. ''I have participated in society events, including moderating a panel around 1993 and more recently speaking before a lunch meeting of the Washington chapter on October 30, 2003."
Nancy Keenan, president of the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, which opposes Roberts's nomination, accused him of engaging in a ''political campaign to create the appearance of open-mindedness."
''John Roberts's lawyerly answers fall short of the candor the American people expect," Keenan told the Associated Press. ''Even anti-choice Justices Antonin Scalia and William Rehnquist respect precedent, but that hasn't stopped them from explicitly saying they want to overturn Roe v. Wade."
Most of Roberts's 84-page response is dedicated to biographical information, lists of speeches he has given and decisions he has written, and cases he worked on in the private sector. He reported holding $1.7 million in various mutual funds and $1.6 million in securities, including $291,200 in stock in
Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. 
