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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (126579)	7/21/2005 3:29:59 PM
From: Brian Sullivan	Respond to of 793670

Supreme Court Nominee Roberts Would Join Millionaire Bench WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- If confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, nominee John Roberts Jr. will become the latest multi-millionaire justice on the bench. Roberts, a federal appeals court judge making $171,000 the last two years, was paid just over $1 million in his final year of private practice and has amassed a net worth of $3.8 million, according to the Center For Investigative Reporting. Roberts' 2004 judicial financial disclosure, the most recent year available, shows he has a diverse financial portfolio, holding 40 individual stocks, several mutual fund accounts and bank accounts worth at least $2.8 million as of May 2004. The disclosures don't give a specific value for each investment but instead off bracketed ranges aimed at providing for approximate values. He also owns a house in suburban Maryland and has a 1/8th stake in a cottage in Knocklong, Limerick, Ireland. Robert's wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, works in Washington as an attorney representing corporate clients for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. The income of spouses isn't disclosed on judicial financial forms. Federal judges and Supreme Court justices are allowed to continue holding investments, including individual stocks, once they take the bench. But these holdings - and the holdings and business activities of spouses and relatives - can lead to recusals on specific cases. In recent years, the Supreme Court has been able to rule on cases involving companies with few problems even as several justices continued to hold stock investments in their portfolios. Individual stock holdings can lead to a 4-4 split, or nonbinding decision, in a case. Supreme Court justices don't disclose why they recuse themselves from a specific case, but justices do occasionally sit out a case presumably because of their investments. Six sitting justices report assets in the millions, including Justices David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens and retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Justices O'Connor, Ginsburg and Breyer have all reported holding numerous individual stocks while other justices have limited or no individual stock investments. Should Roberts continue to hold stock investments once he joins the high court, he could face recusals on lawsuits involving telecommunications and high- technology companies. Roberts, among other investments, disclosed that as of May 2004, he had stock holdings worth more than $100,000 in Time Warner Inc. (TWX), Dell Inc. (DELL), Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Intel Corp. (INTC) and others. He holds a variety of smaller stock investments in other top U.S. companies, including Boeing Co. (BA), The Coca-Cola Co. (KO), Merck & Co. Inc. ( MRK), Nike Inc. (NKE) and Pfizer (PFE). By Mark H. Anderson, Dow Jones Newswires, 202 862-9254; mark.anderson@ dowjones.com