4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2005
COURTS
Bush hints to next nominee
BY JESSE J. HOLLAND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON—John Roberts, hailed by supporters as "the brightest of the bright," cruised yesterday toward easy confirmation as chief justice while President Bush hinted that his next pick to the Supreme Court could be a minority or a woman.
Judge John Roberts smiles on Capitol Hill Friday before a meeting with Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Cofo. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 Friday to send Roberts' nomination as Chief Justice of the United States to the Senate floor where a final vote is expected next week.
"Diversity is one of the strengths of the country," the president said.
Roberts, a 50-year-old federal appellate judge and the president's first pick for the Supreme Court, is assured of getting an overwhelming confirmation vote by the Senate later this week, making him the nation's 17th chief justice.
Two-thirds of the 100 senators — both Republicans and Democrats — already had promised to support Roberts as the successor to the late William H. Rehnquist before the debate began.
Roberts' would-be colleagues support him, too, said Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
Roberts is "the brightest of the bright," declared Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., as the Senate began several days of debate.
"The word is that the justices very much applaud his nomination to be chief justice," Spector said. "He has the potential, almost from a running start, to bring a new day and a new era to the Supreme Court."
With Roberts' confirmation guaranteed, senators and Bush started turning to the White House's upcoming selection of a replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Dav O'Connor.
Specter said he expects that nomination to come "shortly, if not immediately, after a decision is made by the Senate on the Roberts nomination."
Frist and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., expect Roberts to be confirmed by Thursday, and Bush is expected to make his next selection for the Supreme Court soon after that.
"I will pick a person who can do the job. But I am mindful that diversity is one of the strengths of the country." Bush said yesterday.
The president is under pressure from many quarters — including his wife — to pick a woman or a minority for O'Connor's seat.
Widely mentioned candidates include federal appellate judges Janice Rogers Brown, Edith Brown Clement, Edith Hollan Jones, Emilio Garza, Alice Batchelder, Karen Williams, J. Michael Luttig, J. Harvie Wilkinson, Michael McConnell and Samuel Alito.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and Maura Corrigan, a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, are also considered possibilities.
Roberts' Democratic supporters warned the White House not to take their support for granted on the next nominee, especially if Bush chooses a hard-right conservative to replace O'Connor.
"We're asking him in this case especially. Be a uniter. Don't be a divider, for the sake of the country," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Leahy is one of the 13 Democrats supporting Roberts. With all 55 Republicans expected to vote for the conservative judge, he will easily surpass the number of votes garnered by the last conservative nominee, Clarence Thomas, who was confirmed, 52-48. in 1991.
"I believe there is value in rolling up the score," Specter said.
President Clinton's two nominees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, were confirmed 96-3 and 87-9, respectively.
Democrats opposing Roberts say they're afraid the former lawyer in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations will be staunchly conservative like Thomas and Justice Antonin Scalia.
They question Roberts' commitment to civil rights and expressed concern that he might overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade court ruling that established the right to abortion.
The White House refused to release paperwork from Roberts' time as a deputy solicitor general in the administration of George H. W. Bush, and many Democrats feel the nominee has
evaded or refused to fully answer questions asked by Democrats during his confirmation hearing two weeks ago.
"I have too many doubts about the direction a Roberts court will take us. Persistent, nagging doubts," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.
Republicans insisted that Roberts has not indicated how he will vote on any issue, including abortion.
"Judge Roberts is not predisposed to overturning the settled precedent represented by Roe," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.
Prisoner abuse trial ends in conviction
IRAQ
BY T.A. BADGER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT HOOD, Texas — Army Pfc. Lynndie England, whose smiling poses in photos of detainee abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison made her the face of the scandal, was convicted yesterday by a military jury on six of seven counts.
England, 22, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, four counts of malt treating detainees and one count of committing an indecent act. She was acquitted on a second conspiracy count.
The jury of five male Army officers took about two hours to reach its verdict. Her case now moves to the sentencing phase, which will be heard by the same jury beginning today.
England stood at attention yesterday as the verdict was read by the jury foreman. She showed no obvious emotion afterward.
England tried to plead guilty in May to the same counts she faced this month in exchange for an undisclosed sentencing cap, but a judge threw out the plea deal. She now faces a maximum of nine years in prison.
Asked for comment after the verdict, defense lawyer Capt. Jonathan Crisp said, "The only reaction I can say is, 'I understand.'"
England's trial is the last for a group of nine Army reservists charged with mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghaib in Iraq, a scandal that badly damaged the United States' image in the Muslim world despite quick condemnation of the abuse by President Bush. Two other troops were convicted in trials and the remaining six made plea deals. Several of those soldiers testified at England's trial.
Prosecutors used graphic photos of England to support their contention that she was a
key figure in the abuse conspiracy. One photo shows England holding a naked detainee on a leash. In others, she smiles and points to prisoners in humiliating poses.
Beyond the sordid photos, prosecutors pointed to England's statement to Army investigators in January 2004 that the mistreatment was done to amuse the U.S. guards at Abu Gheil
"The accused knew what she was doing," said Capt. Chris Graveline, the lead prosecutor. "She was laughing and joking. ... She is enjoying, she is participating, all for her own sick humor."
Crisp countered that England was only trying to please her soldier boyfriend, then Cpl. Charles Graner Jr., labeled the abuse ringleader by prosecutors.
"She was a follower; she was an individual who was snipped with Graner," Crisp said. "She just did whatever he wanted her to do."
England, from Fort Ashby, W.Va., has said that Graner, now serving a 10-year sentence, fathered her young son.
The defense argued that England suffered from depression and that she has an overly compliant personality, making her a heedless participant in the abuse.
England's earlier attempt to plead guilty under a deal with prosecutors was rejected by Col. James Pohl, the presiding judge. Pohl declared a mistrial during the sentencing phase when testimony by Graner contradicted England's guilty plea.
Graner, a defense witness at the sentencing, said pictures he took of England holding a prisoner on a leash were meant to be used as a training aid. In her guilty plea, England had said the pictures were being taken purely for the amusement of Abu Ghraib guards.
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