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Specter asks if Roberts believes the const. contains a right to privacy:

Roberts: "I do."

More: "The right to privacy is protected by he constitution in various ways...It's prot. by the 4th amendment... protected under the 1st amendment [which] protects privacy in matters on conscience...and in addition, the court has, over a series of decisions going back eighty years, that personal privacy is a component of the liberty protected by the due process clause...not just procedurally but in substantive matters as well.

Roberts acknowledges his 1980s-era memo where he added scare quotes to a "so-called" right to privacy, were the views of his superior and do not currently reflect what he personally believes.

Reaction from the conservative ConfirmThem blog: "Roberts’ answer was brilliant. He made a statement that will satisfy most Americans about privacy while leaving himself enough wiggle room to move the Court on that issue in the future."

Liberal poster Armando says on DailyKos: "Roberts says he believes that there is a "right to privacy" - protected by the 4th Amendment, and the First Amendment and the 3rd Amendment. Adopts the "liberty" rubric. Protected substantively, not just procedurally, by 80 years of precedent. Let me reintroduce you to an old phrase - "Confirmation Conversion."

Posted by Marc Ambinder | 09:55 AM