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Key points from the afternoon's hearing:

* despite the best efforts of Sen. Feinstein, Roberts refuses to discuss Roe, except to say that its precedence is well-settled.

* Roberts takes a Scalia-esque view of using foreign law in SCOTUS jurisprudence; "Judges...are appointed in a process that allows for participation in the electorate....If we're relying for a decision from a German judge for what our constituion means, no president accountable to the people appointed that judge and no senate accountable to the people confirmed that judge."

* Roberts specifically opposes Justice Douglas's "penumbra" conception of liberty;

* Roberts agrees with the result of Griswold but does not endorse (or reject) the reasoning that led to it. "I agree with the Griswold court's conclusion that marital privacy...extends to contraception."

* Roberts had very little to say about how best to deal with pornography and its relation to free speech cases

* Roberts rejects the bible as a source for his views on jurisprudence: "When it comes to judging, I look to the law books. I always have. I don't look to the bible or any other sources."

* Roberts said "President Reagan was in favor of affirmative action and opposed to quotas."

* Roberts implies that his judicial philosophy is similar to that of former chief justice William Rehnquist.

Posted by Marc Ambinder | 06:27 PM

If anyone were to be interested in asking a tough question, it would be about his most recent ruling, breaking a tie in a 2-1 split on a case in which the president himself was named as a defendant.

One form of that question: If you had ruled against the president, do you think you would be sitting there today?

Are there no clear guidelines for when a judge should recuse himself/herself?

Cassandro | 09.14.05 11:41 AM