[JURIST] The US Department of Justice Friday refused a congressional request to turn over certain documents authored by US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts [Wikipedia profile] when he was deputy Solicitor General, saying that internal deliberations on the merits of cases are privileged. The DOJ did, however, agreed to turn over any documents reflecting Roberts' final position on cases. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website], the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee charged with overseeing hearings on Roberts' confirmation, called the decision to shield the internal documents "unfortunate". Read Sen. Leahy's statement on the need for these documents for Roberts' confirmation. In July President Bush nominated Roberts [JURIST report] to replace retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Reuters has more. The Supreme Court Nomination Blog has details on Roberts as a nominee and a judge.