IN THE NEWS - Senate Prepares to Consider Supreme Court Nomi

IN THE NEWS - Senate Prepares to Consider Supreme¹ Court Nomination²
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, July 23, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

 
 
President Bush this week nominated a federal judge to become the one hundred ninth justice of the United States Supreme Court. John Roberts is fifty years old. He grew up in the Midwestern state of Indiana and attended college and law school at Harvard.

He worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C. He also worked in the administrations of two presidents: the first George Bush and Ronald Reagan. Mister Roberts represented the government in thirty-nine cases before the Supreme Court.

He has been a judge for two years. He serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That court is often called the second most powerful after the Supreme Court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to begin confirmation³ hearings by early September.

Supreme Court nominees⁵ have often been unwilling⁶ to answer questions about their legal positions. The American Bar Association advises nominees not to discuss how they might vote on issues likely to come before them.

There are ten Republicans and eight Democrats⁷ on the Judiciary Committee. Unless they reject a nominee⁴, the next step is a vote by the full Senate.

President Bush noted⁸ that the Senate approved Judge Roberts for his current job without any opposition⁹. The president says his nominee would not "legislate¹⁰" from the court, but would "strictly¹¹ apply the Constitution and laws."

Conservative groups generally support the nomination of John Roberts. Liberal groups say they are concerned about some of his positions on civil liberties. These include the right of women to end unwanted pregnancies¹². He has questioned the Supreme Court decision in nineteen seventy-three that made abortion¹³ legal. But more recently he has called the ruling "settled law."

Right now, interest groups are examining his record of legal writings to look for his positions on different issues.

President Bush says he wants Judge Roberts on the court when it begins its next term in October.

Since seventeen eighty-nine, the Senate has considered more than one hundred forty Supreme Court nominees. The Senate Historical Office says twenty-seven have been rejected.

No one seems to question the ability of Judge Roberts to do the job. Most concerns being expressed involve the balance of the nine-member court.

The current Supreme Court, unchanged for eleven years, has often been conservative in its rulings. But Judge Roberts would replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She is retiring after twenty-four terms. She often took moderate positions that made the difference in cases decided¹⁴ by votes of five-to-four.

Justice O'Connor was the first woman on the court. Her retirement¹⁵ will leave the only other woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A White House spokesman says the president considered a number of qualified¹⁶ women but believes he chose "the best person to fill this position."

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

6 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

11 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

12 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

13 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

16 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。