And after reviewing over 75,000 pages of records, democrats worry that his views on affirmative action do not appear to have changed much over the course of his 25-year career.
The Reagan line touted "color blind," "gender blind," and was anti-affirmative action. Mirroring these ideals, John Robert's perspectives from 1981 to 2003 tell a consistent story.
- In 1981, Roberts said he rejected a 2-year-old ruling that let employers use race in voluntary affirmative action.
- From 1982 to 1986 he expressed similar views views as an associate White House counsel.
- From 1989 to 1993 he expressed similar views as Starr's principal deputy solicitor general from 1989 to 1993 in the first Bush administration.
- In 1990, Roberts decided to file an amicus (friend of the court) brief opposing, instead of the common practice of defending, a federal policy: in the case of Metro Broadcasting v. the FCC, he filed a brief against the FCC policy which helped women and minorities obtain broadcast licenses. (He lost)
- In 1993, Roberts returned to the private sector and wrote an amicus brief for the Associated General Contractors to challenge another federal race-based affirmative action program in Adarand v. Pena.
- In 1995, the Supreme Court reversed the earlier Metro Broadcasting decision. The reason for the change? Liberals Brennan and Marshall had left the court; one replacement was the staunch conservative Clarence Thomas, whose vote changed everything.
- In 2003, under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, he repeatedly referred to an FCC policy, which aided minorities and women seeking a certain type of broadcast license as "unconstitutional discrimination."
Has Roberts made up his mind about affirmative action?
Conservatives say he has not - that he is intelligent, thoughtful and open minded.
Liberals say he has and therefore, cannot be trusted to maintain the progress we've made in certain civil rights and freedoms.
Still others point out that it's not really possible to anticipate someone's actions until they are seated on the bench.
For more information on Roberts' record and the history of milestone Supreme Court decisions, visit the Newsday.com article: Tilting the balance of power.