SUPREME COURT Roberts to face more scrutiny with chief justice nomination

His hearing was delayed until Monday.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- As the body of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist lay in repose Tuesday, senators vowed to expand their examination of John Roberts' qualifications to replace him, focusing not only on Roberts' legal views but also on the leadership style he'd bring to the nation's highest tribunal.
President Bush, faced with a historic opportunity to fill two vacancies on the Supreme Court, said he'd take his time before naming a replacement for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who's retiring, and predicted that she'd still be on the bench when the court convenes in October.
Congress returned to work Tuesday facing a political and legislative landscape that had changed radically from the one that lawmakers left at the end of July. Senate leaders delayed starting Roberts' hearing until Monday, partly in deference to Chief Justice Rehnquist but also to keep focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Roberts, whom Bush initially had nominated to replace Justice O'Connor, had been scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Democrats on the committee said Roberts' testimony about his legal thinking would be all the more important because the White House had refused to turn over records from his tenure as deputy solicitor general during the elder President Bush's administration.
"It's up to us to ask him about what he said or did at that time," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the panel's ranking Democrat.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the committee's chairman, said that as a nominee for chief justice, Roberts would have to answer questions about how he'd lead the court that he wouldn't have faced before.
Clearing up issues
Specter said he'd like a new chief to bring greater clarity to the secretive court. He complained that the court has appeared contradictory on religious displays in public places and on the Americans with Disabilities Act in recent decisions. He said some court decisions were muddied by multiple opinions within the majority.
"The court handed down three decisions last June 27th '04 on detainees. And it's impossible to reconcile the numerous opinions there," he said. "And I think that Judge Roberts may have a real chance to bring the court together based on the personality which I have seen, if he is confirmed."