Roberts largely declined to say which memos were representative of his own current views and which were not, noting that he had written many of them more than two decades ago.
But the nominee added, “Certainly, there are many areas where it appears that I knew a lot more when I was 25 than I think I know now when I’m 50. I had a lot of different experiences in the intervening period that give you valuable perspective.”
“I certainly wouldn’t write everything today as I wrote it back then,” he added, “but I don’t think any of us would do things or write things today as we did when we were 25 and had all the answers.”
At yesterday’s hearings, each senator on the Judiciary Committee was allowed 30 minutes to question Roberts, moving in order of seniority and alternating between Republican and Democratic members.
Many Republican committee members praised Roberts’ professional credentials and his promise to emphasize respect for legal precedent and a strict adherence to the rule of law.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Roberts whether, as chief justice, he would follow in the footsteps of William H. Rehnquist, the late chief justice for whom Roberts once clerked.
“I will have to insist that I will be my own man, and I hesitate to be put in anybody’s mold,” Roberts answered.
When Graham questioned Roberts on how he would like to be remembered by history, the nominee jokingly responded, “I’d like them to start by saying, ‘He was confirmed.’”
Striking a more serious tone, Roberts continued, “Whether they say that or not...I would like them to say I was a good judge.”
If confirmed as the 17th chief justice, Roberts will be the first graduate of Harvard College or Harvard Law School to hold that position. He would also be the youngest chief justice in over two centuries.
While in law school, Roberts was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review, but he was not particularly outspoken about his conservative political views, according to his Harvard peers.
Most experts agree that Roberts, currently a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is likely to secure the Judiciary Committee’s endorsement and win confirmation in the Senate.
The committee will reconvene today for a second round of questioning. Specter said yesterday during a break that he hopes to question Roberts further on the notion of a “living Constitution.”
—Staff writer Daniel J. T. Schuker can be reached at dschuker@fas.harvard.edu.