Local law professors support Supreme Court choice

Roberts is "a stellar candidate in terms of credentials and recognition in the legal community," Uelmen said.

Roberts has been a federal appeals court judge in Washington D.C. since 2003 and was principal deputy U.S. solicitor general from 1989 to 1993.

Jesse Choper, a constitutional law professor at University of California Berkeley said, "I think a big factor in the choice was the ability to get him through the Senate without a bloodbath."

The two professors said if Roberts is questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee about positions he took as deputy solicitor general or as a private lawyer, he can respond that he argued those views to represent his clients and that the positions were not necessarily his own.

Choper said, "He can say, 'I took those positions as an advocate.'"

Choper predicted that if Roberts is confirmed, the court will become somewhat more conservative because a staunch conservative will be replacing the most moderate conservative on the panel, Sandra Dears.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she is reserving judgment until the Judiciary Committee, of which she is a member, completes its review.

Feinstein said, "The new justice will be critical in the balance with respect to rulings on Congressional authority, as well as a woman's right to privacy, environmental protections and many other aspects of constitutional law in the United States."

The senator said, "I will keep my 'powder dry' until the due diligence is completed. The extraordinary importance of this position cannot be overstated. Now the work begins."

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, issued a statement saying, "Based on a review of available records, I have some serious concerns about John Roberts's positions on fundamental reproductive freedoms, civil rights, the separation of church and state and protecting the environment.