Key Point: President Bush selected a judge with strong legal credentials, but with sharp partisan credentials that cannot be ignored. The burden of proof is on Judge Roberts to demonstrate that he can put his partisanship aside and live up to a Supreme Court Justice's duty to uphold the rights and freedoms of every American and the promise of equal justice for all.

*All Americans deserve to know if Judge Roberts respects the core values of the Constitution and falls within the mainstream of America.

*Judge Roberts has written relatively few opinions in his brief tenure as a judge, so his views on a wide variety of vital issues are still unknown. What little we do know raises some key concerns. He has an obligation to share his record, his philosophy and his views with the Senate and the American public.

*In recent years, the Supreme Court has addressed crucial issues that affect the lives of ordinary Americans. In many of these cases, the Court was narrowly divided. Many are likely to be the subject of future Court decisions. Key Issues:

-- Whether employees' rights will be protected in the workplace.
-- Whether families will be able to obtain needed medical care under their health insurance policies.
-- Whether people will actually receive the retirement benefits they earned.
-- Whether people will be free from discrimination in their daily lives.
-- *Whether students will be given fair consideration when they apply to college.
-- Whether persons with disabilities will have access to public facilities and programs.
-- Whether we will have reasonable environmental laws that keep our air and water clean.
-- Whether large corporations are held accountable when they injure workers and consumers

*There are important questions about Judge Roberts's commitment to individual rights:

--He has opposed programs to guarantee equal opportunity.
--He opposed the right to privacy and argued to overturn Roe v. Wade, saying the case is "wrongly decided" and "finds no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution."
--He represented coal companies against workers' rights.
-- He sought to limit every American's right to a lawyer by arguing to narrow the Supreme Court's core precedent in Miranda v. Arizona.
--Judge Roberts represented clients in each of these cases, but he has a duty to explain to the American people where he stands on these issues.

*We are also disappointed that President Bush missed this opportunity to appoint someone who would make the court look more like America. If Judge Roberts is approved, he will be the seventh white male on the bench. It is important for the Supreme Court to reflect this nation's diversity.

*The State Democratic Party looks forward to ensuring that the people of our state have information about Judge Roberts's record - information that we hope will help clarify whether or not he live up to a Supreme Court Justice's duty to uphold the rights and freedoms of every American and the promise of equal justice for all.