FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 19, 2005

Contact: Michael Avery, President, 617-335-5023
Heidi Boghosian, Exec. Dir., 212-679-5100, ext. 11; 917-239-4999

NATIONAL LAWYERS CALLS FOR SEARCHING REVIEW OF SUPREME COURT NOMINEE

New York. The National Lawyers Guild calls for the United States Senate to conduct a searching review of Judge John Roberts, nominated by President Bush to the United States Supreme Court. The Guild urges Senators to fulfill their constitutional duty to examine the nominee’s record critically. The Guild notes that Judge Roberts, a member of the Federalist Society, has a very conservative record, as have all of the President’s judicial nominations.

NLG President Michael Avery stated, “Despite saying he is opposed to judicial activism, the President has sought to remake the law in this country by appointing to the federal bench a cadre of judges who will rule against regulation of industry by the federal government, in favor of state’s rights, against civil rights and remedies for discrimination, against the rights of workers and consumers and against a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy. Judge John Roberts brings a career advocating this vision on behalf of Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. to the Supreme Court.”

The Lawyers Guild expressed concern that the majority of Americans do not realize how radically the law can be changed by the solid conservative majority that Judge John Roberts will create on the Supreme Court, together with the over 200 judges the President has already had confirmed to the federal bench.

NLG President Michael Avery emphasized that, “There are no justices on the Supreme Court who were civil rights lawyers, none who represented working people on a regular basis, no former legal aid lawyers, none who represented teenaged girls seeking abortions and none who made a living as criminal defense lawyers. Although Judge Roberts has some experience doing pro bono legal work, his career has been devoted to the representation of major corporate interests in private practice and ultra conservative positions as a government attorney. Not since Justice Thurgood Marshall have we had anyone on the Court who committed himself throughout his life to representing the legal interests of ordinary Americans.” The Lawyers Guild called for the Senate to insist that Judge Roberts explain whether his judicial philosophy will require government to respect the constitutional and human rights of all Americans and to reject the nominee if that question is not satisfactorily answered.

The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, comprises over 6,000 members and activists in the service of the people. Its national office is headquartered in New York and it has chapters in nearly every state, as well as over 100 law school chapters. -#-