Judge Roberts

21 July 2005

I was glad to see your optimism regarding the nomination of Judge Roberts. I am glad the Group of 14 is still working together on this important issue. I have always been optimistic about the deal holding and the group being able to work out any difficult opinion. The optimism is because I believe in you and I say a prayer for you guys every night.

It makes me happy to see a bipartisan group working together and solving problems. This being the first nomination process I can watch and actually understand it is nice to see it working smoothly so far. I hope the bipartisanship keeps the Senate moving smoothly.

I am not prejudging the nominee either way, but am waiting for the hearings so I can hear what he has to say. It is not fair to evaluate what he would do on the Court by the positions he argued for clients. I want to know what his positions are on issues like eminent domain and, although I am pro-life, wish that this process would not center so much around abortion because there are other important issues. I believe that issues like abortion and homosexual unions should be decided by the states and not the federal government (legislature or courts). I would hope that no one would ask about parental notification because there are cases on questions related to that subject that are to come before the court during the next term. Those questions should not be asked and if they are; should not be answered because they relate to questions he will be asked to evaluate on the bench.

I salute you and your thirteen colleagues for your efforts at working together. Keep up the good work. Please help the process move on a smooth path and do not let the interest groups take over.

Thank you