Roberts praised for role in Nevada cases

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, July 21, 2005 | 10:42 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., already delving into the background of John Roberts, offered subtle praise today for the Supreme Court nominee's role in two Nevada-related cases.

In both cases, a gaming case and an environmental case, Roberts argued on behalf of state interests, Reid said. Those stances "certainly don't hurt him," said Reid, who met with Roberts for about 30 minutes on Wednesday, as the nominee made courtesy calls to several key senators.

But Reid also stressed that the Democrats -- who have not leapt to criticize Bush's nominee -- plan to review Roberts' record, as well as FBI and Judicial Committee investigations before they announce their stance on his nomination. Reid said "no one sees extraordinary circumstances" yet with Roberts.

"Cool your jets," Reid said at a news conference today. "Let the process go forward."

In a 1999 case, Roberts, working as a Washington attorney, filed a friend of the court brief in a Supreme Court casino advertising case. The case involved the Greater New Orleans Broadcast Association, which was challenging a ban on radio and television advertising for casinos.

Roberts filed the brief, on behalf of client the American Gaming Association, the industry's top lobby group. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the advertising ban violated the First Amendment.

Roberts' brief successfully tackled some arguments that the gaming industry has a bad influence on society, AGA President Frank Fahrenkopf said.

"John's brief debunked all that," he said.

Fahrenkopf said Roberts' nomination probably doesn't mean much for the gaming industry in general. But it would be nice for Nevada to have someone with his background on the nation's highest court if it hears a gaming case, he said.

"He's represented us," said Fahrenkopf, who knows Roberts well from their days together at Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson. "Now we've got a Supreme Court justice who at least understands our industry."

As an attorney Roberts was also on the winning side in a January 2002 Supreme Court case, when he represented the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, a California-Nevada agency dedicated to preserving the alpine lake and surrounding environment.

A group of lake property land owners had sued the agency over a development ban in place during the early 1980s, and the case had finally made its way to the Supreme Court.

Roberts successfully defended the development ban in what was considered an important case for establishing a government's duty to protect the environment. Reid called it "one of the biggest" court victories for the environment in Nevada history.