WASHINGTON - Leading liberal groups, looking to engage the public, say they will probably fight the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge John G. Roberts Jr. before hearings begin on Sept. 6 -- a campaign that could include statements and television ads portraying him as a conservative with extreme views on abortion, affirmative action, civil rights, and equal rights for women.

A cumulative pattern is beginning to emerge, of lack of respect for the historic role of the court as enforcer of rights.

Nan Aron, president, the Alliance for Justice

Ralph G. Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way, said he will ask his group's leadership for a statement against Roberts this week. He said a ''significant number of progressive organizations" will follow suit against President Bush's pick to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

''The evidence is so convincing and so overwhelming," said Neas, who fought against nominee Robert Bork and Justice Clarence Thomas. ''Without question, [Roberts] was a charter member of the policy team that attempted to dismantle the civil rights regime that had been enforced by Democratic and Republican administrations for decades."

Top members of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Alliance for Justice -- two left-leaning groups that had prominent roles against other court appointees -- say they also will probably oppose Roberts, shifting their initial wait-and-see stance.

Until now, senators have largely praised Roberts, a federal appeals court judge, and his sterling credentials, while advocacy groups have held fire, spurring predictions of a swift confirmation in the GOP- majority Senate. Still, tougher talk from liberal groups and leading Senate Democrats suggest there will be hurdles.

The opposition hopes a more aggressive stance ahead of the hearings will help them frame the debate on Roberts and persuade voters to pressure their senators to vote against him. Their campaign is expected to include TV ads, but the major groups have not decided the amount they'll spend, though they admit the effort could be futile.

Meanwhile, the National Archives today will release nearly 40,000 more pages of files from Roberts's tenure as a lawyer in the Reagan administration, adding more detail to his career profile. Some interest groups say those papers and others still pending could help them take a firmer position.

''With an imminent document drop, it behooves us to be reviewing documents and getting a better sense of what his views are before we make the final decision," said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, a coalition of liberal advocacy groups. ''But a cumulative pattern is beginning to emerge, of lack of respect for the historic role of the court as enforcer of rights. I assume that we will -- sooner rather than later -- have a complete enough picture that we will be in opposition."

Republicans are confident about Roberts's confirmation; few senators are openly critical and none has said he or she will vote against him. Still, top Senate Democrats are issuing sharper critiques.

On Tuesday, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, said documents show that Roberts's views ''were among the most radical" in a White House ''intent on reversing decades of policies on civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, privacy, and access to justice."

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, writing to fellow Senate Democrats, slammed Roberts's narrow interpretation of voting rights and antidiscrimination legislation as ''beyond the fringe."

Firing back, Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman said ''extreme liberal special interest groups" are controlling the Democrats. He warned that Democrats who oppose Roberts but represent states Bush won in last year's election could face consequences at the ballot box. ''The American people understand that Judge Roberts is a superbly qualified, fair-minded judge, and that he will make a Supreme Court justice we can all be proud of," Mehlman said, speaking in Wheeling, W.Va.

Liberal groups say they have been careful in opposing Roberts before reviewing his complete record. So far, only abortion-rights groups have clearly opposed him, and one -- NARAL Pro-Choice America -- withdrew a controversial TV ad last week after heavy criticism as being unfair.

But Roberts's papers to date reveal him as an attorney hostile to abortion rights with a narrow view of the federal government's role in ensuring equal rights and access to services, said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. ''Every day, I grow more and more concerned about what we're finding," Solmonese said. 

© 2005 New York Times Company

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