By CHARMAINE SMITH
Anderson Independent-Mail
July 26, 2005

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., met with President George W. Bush’s Supreme Court nominee John Roberts Tuesday.

Senator Graham is one 18 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee charged with assessing each judicial nominee’s fitness for the courts by combing through the nominee’s background and judicial writings and questioning witnesses, including the nominee, before deciding whether to send the nomination to the full Senate for a vote.

After their meeting Tuesday, Sen. Graham called Judge Roberts "an extremely bright and capable individual with an impeccable legal background."

He said he hoped the committee would treat him "in a fair and professional manner" during the confirmation process.
"Early indications are that we will and I certainly hope that trend continues," he said.

Sen. Graham is seen as one of several Judiciary Committee members to watch during the confirmation hearings set for late August or early September.

He and Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, have received considerable heat from conservative constituents after signing the so-called "Gang of 14" agreement in which seven Republicans agreed to protect the Democrats’ right to filibuster judicial nominations and seven Democrats agreed to filibuster only in "extraordinary circumstances."

Mr. Roberts is currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Washington, D.C. Circuit. A 50-year-old Harvard Law School graduate, Mr. Roberts has clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and has served as an official for both the Ronald Reagan and Bush administrations.

Sen. Graham has surprised members of his party with his tough questioning of some of Bush’s nominees, including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

In this case, Sen. Graham said he expected the committee would aggressively question Judge Roberts, but he said questions about how Judge Roberts would vote on any particular issue should be "out-of-bounds."

He also warned against the improper use of a client’s position against the nominee.

"I hope the hearings do not become a referendum on any single issue," Sen. Graham said. "It’s not an opportunity to get them to say how they would rule on cases that may come before the Supreme Court in future years."

Scripps Howard News Service contributed to this report.

Charmaine Smith can be reached at (864) 260-1269 or by e-mail at smithca@IndependentMail.com.

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