John Roberts on Judicial Restraint (?)

Wave Maker posts this impressive and reassuring statement, previously posted by Tim Chapman at Townhall.com:

My own judicial philosophy begins with an appreciation of the limited role of a judge in our system of divided powers. Judges are not to legislate and are not to execute the laws. . . . My judicial philosophy accordingly insists upon some rigor in ensuring that judges properly confine themselves to the adjudication of the case before them, and seek neither to legislate broadly not to administer the law generally in deciding that case.

Deciding the case . . . . requires an essential humility grounded in the properly limited role of an undemocratic judiciary in a democratic republic, a humility reflected in doctrines of deference to legislative policy judgments and embodied in the often misunderstood term “judicial restraint.” That restraint does not mean that judges should not act against the popular will. . . . [T]he framers expected them to be discerning the law, not shaping policy. That means the judges should not look to their own personal views or preferences in deciding the cases before them. Their commission is no license to impose those preferences from the bench. [Emphasis added]

Chapman says this is from a statement made by Roberts to Senator Chuck Schumer, but inexcusably, Chapman does not provide a source link. I was unable to find the quote in the lengthy PDF file of Roberts' 1993 Appeals Court confirmation hearings in the Senate, either by searching "restraint" or by skimming Schumer's questioning of Roberts. A Google search finds the exact same unattributed quote with the exact same celebratory lead-in ("Bush did it! He nominated a rock solid conservative and fulfilled his pledge") on From the Bleachers, both on July 19, so it appears to be some sort of conservative press release or talking points. Since this statement attributed to Roberts is so reassuring to moderates like Wave Maker and me, it seems important to know where it comes from. Stay tuned, as I've asked Chapman, Bleachers, and Chuck Schumer for the source!

- amba