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Bush Nominee Has Tie to Gaming Industry

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts has a tie to the gaming industry.

Then in private practice, Roberts was a participant in a 1999 case before the Supreme Court involving casino advertising. The court ruled unanimously that banning television and radio advertising for casinos violated the First Amendment.

Roberts did not appear during oral arguments before the justices. But he prepared a brief and was the "counsel of record" for the American Gaming Association, the industry's chief lobbying arm in Washington.

In his brief, Roberts wrote an advertising ban could not be justified by "the perceived dangers of commercial casino gaming."

The association filed briefs in support of the Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Association, 26 television and radio stations that won its case in June 1999 against the federal government to air ads for casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Frank Fahrenkopf, who has been the association's president since its inception in 1995, has known Roberts since 1986 when they worked at the same Washington law firm, Hogan & Hartson.

Fahrenkopf said he is not sure what it would mean for the gambling industry if Roberts is confirmed to the Supreme Court.

"He is going to decide cases based on the facts and law presented," Fahrenkopf said.

"But it's nice to know there is a member of the court who at least knows about the industry and its background," Fahrenkopf said. "He is aware of the real picture of the industry, and not just the myths and superstitions still in the mind of some in the media. That's a positive, but it may not help us."

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who once taught at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said he does not think Roberts' work for the association could prevent him from ruling on gambling cases that might reach the Supreme Court.

"I'm pretty sure that Roberts would not have to recuse unless a case were closely related to the one you cite, and even then he might not," Tobias said.

Fahrenkopf said he is not aware of any gambling cases pending before the Supreme Court, or that are likely to reach the court anytime soon.

Lawsuits involving Internet gambling may at some point climb to the Supreme Court, but Roberts would not have to recuse himself from those, Fahrenkopf said.

Meanwhile Wednesday, Roberts paid a visit to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

They met for 30 minutes, along with former Sen. Fred Thompson, a Tennessee Republican who is shepherding the nominee, according to Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen.

"His advice to Roberts was to be forthcoming in answering the (Judiciary) committee's questions," Hafen said.

Asked about Roberts earlier in the day, Reid said he did not know the judge had once represented the gambling industry. He said that would not make him more or less likely to support his nomination.

"I'm sure that the resort industry ... would go to a good lawyer, and no one questions his legal ability," Reid said.

Roberts has other connections to Nevada.

As a private attorney in 2002, he represented the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in a Supreme Court case defending a development moratorium that had been put in place at Lake Tahoe. He won that case.

Roberts also was a member of the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that in June 2004 threw out a $959 million judgment for U.S. prisoners of war who said they were tortured by the Iraqi military during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

One of the 17 prisoners of war was Jeff Tice, a pilot who lived in Las Vegas.

The court ruled lawsuits for pain and suffering are valid only if they are filed against agents and officers of foreign states responsible for the torture.

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