President Bush has nominated 50-year-old Judge John Glover Roberts, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to replace retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Roberts was nominated to the Court of Appeals by President Bush on Jan. 7, 2003, and confirmed by Senate on May 8, 2003. He earned a BA from Harvard University in 1976, and a JD from Harvard Law in 1979.

During 1980-1981, Roberts served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Associate Justice William Rehnquist, prior to Rehnquist's elevation to Chief Justice. From 1982-1986, he served as associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan.

Roberts was born on Jan. 27, 1955, in Buffalo, N.Y. He is married and is the father of a son and a daughter.

Liberal groups are expected to oppose Robert's nomination based on his positions on cases involving free speech and religious liberty, they say could endanger those rights. Abortion rights groups contend that Roberts is hostile to women's reproductive freedom, citing a 1990 brief in which Roberts suggested the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. However, Judge Roberts has been recently quoted as stating, "Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land. ... There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

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