Senator to Question Roberts on Federal Powers

"Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican overseeing hearings on Judge John G. Roberts Jr.'s nomination to the Supreme Court, laid out plans on Tuesday to question the judge closely on his views of the tensions among conservative approaches to the scope of federal power.

"Mr. Specter's plans, outlined in the second letter he has sent to Judge Roberts, drew applause from Democratic senators and liberal groups, who said Mr. Specter appeared to be pushing Judge Roberts to choose between conservative calls for 'judicial restraint' and efforts by other conservatives to shift power from Congress to the states.

"Hadley Arkes, a professor at Amherst College and a leading social conservative legal thinker, called the letter delicious because of its elucidation of potential tensions among conservative views." ...