Archive: October 30, 2005 - November 05, 2005
Sunday Papers
Charles Lane, in the Washington Post, points to signs that Alito is unlikely to vote to overturn much of anything. In Sunday's Washington Post Outlook section: "Why Alito's the Man for the True Conservative Agenda," by John Hinderaker and Paul Mirengoff John Broder, in the New York Times, asks experts whether the hyberbolic language of the Bork/Alito critics--who are, in fact, the same people-is anything more than hyperbolic....
By Fred Barbash | November 5, 2005; 6:15 PM ET | Email a Comment
Anti-Alito Ads
People for the American Way says it will start running this ad on Meet the Press Sunday. It's accompanied by stills of Bush, Katrina devastation, Scooter Libby and of troops in Iraq with the words "2000 dead" superimposed. Here is the text: "Katrina. Iraq. Indictments. George Bush's presidency is in trouble and he'll do anything to save it. Even giving the radical right wing the power to choose who sits on the Supreme Court. First the radical right vetoed Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Now Bush has named their hand picked candidate, Samuel Alito, threatening fundamental rights and freedoms that Justice O'Connor protected. Contact your Senators. Tell them the court belongs to all of America, not to the radical right....
By Fred Barbash | November 5, 2005; 5:37 AM ET | Comments (12)
Alito in the news.
Charles Babington, in the Washington Post, says Alito is showing a willingness to discuss key issues in his meetings with Senators, "a potentially risky strategy that so far seems to be serving him well," according to members of the Senate Jo Becker, in the Washington Post, uses Alito's 1989 remarks on the Supreme Court's independent counsel ruling as a window on his possible views on other separation of powers issues. Charlie Savage and Rick Klein have a similar piece in the Boston Globe. Stephen Labaton, in the New York Times, reports that a review of Alito opinions and dissents show that he has "reliably favored big-business litigants...." Matthew Hay Brown, in the Baltimore Sun, reports on the rapid mobilization on Alito's behalf by evangelical organizations. Harry Weinstein in the Los Angeles Times looks at cases "cited by liberal groups as evidence that Alito holds little sympathy for workers who claim...
By Fred Barbash | November 5, 2005; 4:48 AM ET | Comments (2)
AP-Ipsos Poll on Alito
The AP reports: Early support for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is considerably weaker among such key groups as evangelicals, Republicans and the wealthy than it was for John Roberts, an AP-Ipsos poll found. The survey put public sentiment for Alito closer to the level of early backing for the failed nomination of Harriet Miers....
By Fred Barbash | November 4, 2005; 9:09 PM ET | Comments (2)
Emily Bazelon in Slate
Emily Bazelon, writing in Slate, has an excellent piece on the difficulty of judging Alito's impact on the court from his prior decisions. Unlike many of the journalists who are tackling this problem, she's actually read the opinions about which she's writing--in their entirety....
By Fred Barbash | November 4, 2005; 4:29 PM ET | Email a Comment
Friends of Judge Alito
From Progress for America comes a list of friends and admirers of Judge Alito available for (presumably) positive interviews. C. Frederick Beckner III: Mr. Beckner is a partner with a law firm in Washington, DC. Mr. Beckner has known Judge Alito since 1994 when he served as one of his law clerks. Michael Covino: Mr. Covino is an attorney with the law firm of Budd Larner in Short Hills, N.J. Mr. Covino has known Judge Alito since 1991 when he served as one of his law clerks....
By Fred Barbash | November 4, 2005; 12:14 PM ET | Email a Comment
Alito Appeals Court Confirmation Hearing Record
Click here to see the record from Alito's 3rd Circuit confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It includes his personal statement detailing the cases he briefed and argued as an assistant solicitor general as well as his views on "judicial activism."...
By Fred Barbash | November 4, 2005; 11:50 AM ET | Comments (1)
Byrd on Alito
The Charleston Daily Mail quotes Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) making positive comments about Alito after meeting with him. That is not surprising, according to the senator's press spokesman, because Byrd has sought more conservative judges. Byrd, however, has not yet made up his mind on how he will vote on the Alito confirmation....
By Fred Barbash | November 4, 2005; 10:57 AM ET | Comments (24)
Alito's 1974 Yale Law Journal note
To read Alito's 1974 Yale Law Journal note "The Released Time Cases Revisited: A Study of Group Decisionmaking by the Supreme Court," click here. Readers of Supreme Court decisions, he concludes in the note, "should be very hesitant about attempting to discern the Justices' motivations from the written opinions."...
By Fred Barbash | November 4, 2005; 4:02 AM ET | Comments (4)
Kinsley, Krauthammer and more.
"Judicial power is like government spending," Michael Kinsley writes in today's Washingtion Post."People hate it in the abstract but love it in the particular. That makes an honest debate hard to have and harder to win. Nevertheless, it would be nice to have one." "In the coming days you will hear that Alito "supports" strip searches of 10-year-olds and the private possession of machine guns," writes Charles Krauthammer in the Post today. "The Brady anti-gun campaign has already called Alito "Machine Gun Sammy." You will also hear that he is hostile to minorities, immigrants, women, workers, the disabled, the environment . . . you name it. These claims are based on the same distortion that we see in attacks on Alito's abortion ruling in Casey -- the deliberate confusion of a constitutional judgment (almost invariably based on the Supreme Court's own precedents) with a personal policy preference. Read "How to...
By Fred Barbash | November 4, 2005; 3:20 AM ET | Email a Comment
Alito Hearing Schedule
Tentative schedule for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings. They are to begin Monday, Jan. 9, before the Senate Judiciary Committee: Jan. 9: The committee convenes at noon. Senators give their opening statements. Alito gives his opening statement. Jan. 10: Senators begin questioning Alito....
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 6:19 PM ET | Comments (2)
Specter: Hearings Start Jan. 9
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican-controlled Senate will begin hearings Jan. 9 on Judge Samuel Alito's appointment to the Supreme Court, spurning President Bush's call for a final confirmation vote by year's end. "It's simply wasn't possible to accommodate the schedule that the White House wanted," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He outlined a schedule that envisions five days of hearings, followed by a vote in committee on Jan. 17 and the full Senate on Jan. 20....
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 5:29 PM ET | Comments (7)
Gang of 14: "Not Breaking Up"
Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Ne) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Ct.) held a briefing after a meeting of the "Gang of 14." Here are excerpts from them and other senators: NELSON: Well, the first comment to make is that the gang is not breaking up. So we'd like to put that rumor to bed. I think we had an outstanding meeting this morning of checking in with one another. That's been one of the hallmarks of our group, that we communicate with one another. I think, number one, we felt that it's early in the process, it's way too early to talk about some of the more divisive things that have been talked about in the past....
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 11:28 AM ET | Comments (1)
Sen. Salazar troubled on Alito
Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo) was intervewed by Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade on Fox News. He expressed concern about whether Alito was "in the mainstream" of judicial thought. Here is a transcript: KILMEADE: This is his quote -- and I'm talking about Senator Ken Salazar -- The manner in which the president handled this nomination -- that's Judge Alito -- is disappointing. The president did not consult with the Senate on this nominee. Senator, are you still on the fence about Judge Alito? SALAZAR: Very much so. We're only beginning the process. There's many weeks ahead of looking at the different decisions and the history concerning Judge Alito. I'm greatly disappointed that he didn't appoint a woman and he did not consult the Senate. But we have a process that we have to follow in the Senate. And I hope that that's a dignified process that takes a good...
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 11:24 AM ET | Comments (35)
Justice Kennedy Interview
Orin Kerr, at the Volokh Conspiracy, calls our attention to what he calls an "important" interview with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. It is well worth reading at the website of the Academy of Achievement. It is indeed important. It is also the most interesting interview with a sitting justice I've seen. It includes, among other comments, this Q & A:Looking ahead, what concerns you most? What are your major concerns as we head into the 21st century, for this country, for the world?My major concern is that what I thought was the golden age of peace seems farther from our reach than I would have thought ten years ago. My major concerns are that there is not an understanding and a commitment to the idea that the American constitutional system and the American idea of freedom have certain universal components that we have the duty, number one, to understand ourselves,...
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 10:46 AM ET | Comments (2)
Massive Ad Battle Seen
Release from the Brennan Center suggests that the Alito nomination may trigger an expensive ad war not seen since the battle over Bork. Here's the release: A study of interest group reactions to this year's Supreme Court nominations shows that the pick of Judge Samuel Alito could well trigger the kind of confirmation battle not seen since Judge Robert Bork was voted down in 1987. The data show many groups announcing their support or opposition much more quickly than for either the John Roberts or Harriet Miers nominations, leading analysts to believe that spending on TV ads over the Alito confirmation battle will far eclipse the estimated $2.4 million spent on the Roberts nomination. ...
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 9:47 AM ET | Comments (4)
Alito on Right to Privacy
This report from Bloomberg says that Alito told Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) that he recognized the right to privacy. A New York Times report on the meeting with Durbin says Alito named as his favorite justices: Rehnquist, Harlan, White and William Brennan. "One of these things is not like the others," says the article, quoting Sesame Street....
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 7:57 AM ET | Comments (1)
Post-ABC Poll on Alito
Richard Morin reports in the Washington Post this morning on a new Post-ABC News poll on the Alito nomination. The poll suggests the nomination could become one of the more divisive actions of the Bush administration.Initial public reaction to new U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito was generally favorable but far from enthusiastic as half the country say he should be confirmed by the Senate and fewer than a third view him as too conservative, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Alito begins the confirmation process with the support of 49 percent of the public while 30 percent currently say he should not be confirmed, the poll found. One in four Americans--24 percent--didn't yet know enough about him to make a judgment....
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 7:09 AM ET | Comments (2)
Alito colleagues on Alito
Hope Yen of AP reports: Judges who have served with Samuel Alito say he's unquestionably a conservative who would push the Supreme Court to the right, likely favoring new abortion restrictions that retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor would not. Five current or former judges on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals interviewed by The Associated Press described Alito as thoughtful, intelligent and fair. They said he has great respect for precedent-setting decisions and none of them offered that he would be likely to vote to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion....
By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 6:40 AM ET | Comments (2)
Gang of 14
By Jesse J. Holland of AP:The 14 centrists who averted a Senate breakdown over judicial nominees last spring are showing signs of splintering on President Bush's latest nominee for the Supreme Court....
By Fred Barbash | November 2, 2005; 7:57 PM ET | Comments (2)
Undergrad Alito Chaired Gay Rights Assignment
Christian R. Burset and Alan Wirzbick report in the Boston Globe: PRINCETON, N.J. -- As a senior at Princeton University, Samuel A. Alito Jr. chaired an undergraduate task force that recommended the decriminalization of sodomy, accused the CIA and the FBI of invading the privacy of citizens, and said discrimination against gays in hiring ''should be forbidden."...
By Fred Barbash | November 2, 2005; 11:05 AM ET | Comments (6)
Biden, Nelson, on Alito
AP reports: A centrist Democratic senator complimented Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito Wednesday as a moderate jurist who won't "hammer away and chisel away" existing law.While Sen. Ben Nelson did not endorse President Bush's latest nominee for the high court, he did say he was impressed by what he heard from Alito during his introductory visit.Beverley Wang of the AP reports: MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Sen. Joseph Biden said he's not sure if he'd vote to confirm Samuel Alito, President Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee, but he predicted that Alito's Senate committee hearing would be different from John Roberts'. "It would be totally disingenuous now for my Republican friends on the committee to say like they did with Roberts, 'Don't answer the questions, it will compromise you,'" the Democratic senator said Tuesday night following a fund-raiser to re-elect Manchester Mayor Robert Baines....
By Fred Barbash | November 2, 2005; 10:40 AM ET | Comments (11)
Resources and Discussions
Click here for "Alito on Alito," which includes links to some Alito dissents and a lively discussion among readers about the nominee. Click here for further background and links on Alito. Click here for Howard Bashman's daily collection of news articles at How Appealing....
By Fred Barbash | November 2, 2005; 7:06 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Future of Roe; the White House Strategy
See an analysis this morning by Charles Lane in The Post about how both sides of the abortion issue seem confident that Alito would vote to overturn Roe. "And they say this for a similar reason: It's not the results Alito reached in past cases that matters, it's his legal reasoning." But see David Garrow's piece in the Financial Times, in which he argues that Alito's record is more nuanced and respectful of settled law. On the same subject, Adam Liptak writes in the New York Times: "One distinct theme emerges from an examination of 15 cases decided by Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. involving abortion: his thinking is shaped by a traditional concept of marriage." (See Roe v. Wade and its reaffirmation in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.) David Broder, in The Post, says the Alito appointment is another example of Bush buckling, as he has done on so many...
By Fred Barbash | November 2, 2005; 3:55 AM ET | Comments (13)
Former Sen. John Edwards on Alito
The Post's Chris Cillizza reports: "President Bush is making yet another divisive choice nominating Judge Samuel Alito to the highest court in the land," Edwards wrote in an e-mail sent from his One America Committee. Edwards describes Alito as someone "who threatens our most basic rights and freedoms." (Text is available on the committee's blog.)...
By Fred Barbash | November 1, 2005; 8:05 PM ET | Comments (32)
Legal Times on Sekulow; Kurtz, Slate on Coverage
Tony Mauro in Legal Times has this interesting piece on Jay Sekulow, who helped lead the charge for Harriet Miers, predicting she would never withdraw. Slate looks at what the bloggers, and others, are saying the day after, in this blog. The Post's Howard Kurtz on press coverage of Alito's nomination....
By Fred Barbash | November 1, 2005; 3:10 PM ET | Comments (2)
DeWine: Alito in 'Mainstream'
(AP) - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is "clearly within the mainstream" and shouldn't be filibustered, declared a Republican who helped fashion a plan limiting parliamentary roadblocks for judicial nominees.Sen. Mike DeWine, who met with President Bush's latest high court choice earlier Tuesday, warned Democrats he would side with GOP leaders to eliminate the judicial filibuster if the minority party uses it against the New Jersey judge....
By Fred Barbash | November 1, 2005; 3:04 PM ET | Email a Comment
PFA Ad, David Frum Prediction
Progress for America is displaying an ad on its Web site supporting Alito's confirmation and soliciting money for a buy. David Frum's prediction: "My guess: After a week of fussing and some intense hearings, Alito goes on the bench with at least 65 votes and probably more like 70+."...
By Fred Barbash | November 1, 2005; 12:05 PM ET | Comments (14)
Video: The Post's Charles Lane on Alito
Click below to watch a video interview with Charles Lane, The Post's Supreme Court reporter: var movieSrc = "http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=left&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=msnbc&postvideo=ms110105-2v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF MOVIE IS PUBLISHED var movieWidth = "454" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC WIDTH var movieHeight = "275" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC HEIGHT var backupGraphic = "no" ; // If you have a backup graphic "yes" or "no" var graphicSrc = "" ; var graphicLink = "" ; //requiredVersion: Change this to 8 to test your alternate text. var requiredVersion = 7; // version the user needs to view site (max is 7, min is 2) var useRedirect = false; // "true" loads new flash or non-flash page into browser // "false" embeds movie or alternate html code into current page // set next three vars if useRedirect is true... var flashPage = "flash.htm"; // the location of the flash movie page var noFlashPage...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | November 1, 2005; 11:07 AM ET | Email a Comment
Alito on Alito
Here is the first of a series of links to specific Alito dissents of possible interest to the public. I offer them because dissents, reflecting individual views rather than the collective views of a panel, tend to allow judges to speak for themselves about the law and their approach to it. In Banks v. Beard, a panel ruled unconstitutional prison rules banning access to newspapers, magazines and other items for certain inmates. Alito dissented. Judge Alito's dissent in C.H. et al v. Grace Oliva et al involves a child who, in fulfilling a Thanksgiving assignment, made a poster saying he was thankful to Jesus. The poster was moved from a location with other children's posters to a less prominent place, allegedly because of its religious theme. The appeals court decision turned on jurisdictional issues, but Alito's comments went to the merits. Judge Alito's concurring opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Farmer...
By Fred Barbash | November 1, 2005; 7:17 AM ET | Comments (70)
The Morning After
There is no debate in the morning media over Samuel A. Alito's qualifications or his character. Nor does anyone contend that he is somehow a mystery man. No informed analysis suggests that his jurisprudence is fringe or eccentric either. Thus, the Senate has a chance -- should it choose to take it -- for a relatively unadulterated battle about a nominee's approach to the law and Constitution in the context of the departure of a specific justice, with whom his record can be compared in order to show how his arrival might change the highest court in the land. Charles Lane's analysis in The Washington Post shows, quite specifically, how Alito differs from O'Connor. Also in The Post is Charles Babington's early assessment of the potential for a cliffhanger once the nomination reaches the Senate. Note especially comments from Sen. Leahy. On the crucial role of the "Gang of Fourteen"...
By Fred Barbash | November 1, 2005; 1:55 AM ET | Comments (2)
Senators Discuss Alito Nomination
Below are links to transcripts of various senators' remarks on the Alito nomination: * Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee.* Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Judiciary Committee member.* Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and other senior GOP senators....
By washingtonpost.com Editors | October 31, 2005; 5:40 PM ET | Comments (13)
Bloggers
For a good sampling of legal blogger opinion see the links in Howard Bashman's blog, How Appealing. The same source is an excellent resource for news on the nation's appeals court, particularly the 3rd Circuit, where Alito sits....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 5:04 PM ET | Comments (4)
Dobson Pleased
James Dobson of Focus on the Family press release:"We are extremely pleased by President Bush's selection of Judge Samuel Alito, who has earned the respect of colleagues in both parties for his legal acumen and courtroom demeanor. As a federal judge for the last 15 years, Judge Alito has demonstrated that he understands the role of the judiciary is to interpret existing law in light of the Constitution, not make new law in service to a personal political agenda....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 4:46 PM ET | Comments (83)
Background on Alito
For background on Alito and links to cases click here and here. Additional information will be added as available....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 1:24 PM ET | Comments (17)
MoveOn.org, Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice preliminary report on Alito. The Alliance opposes his confirmation. Statement from MoveOn.org:Citing a history of written opinions that consistently side with powerful special interests against ordinary Americans, MoveOn.org Political Action today opposed President Bush's nomination of Appellate Judge Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 12:47 PM ET | Comments (138)
ACLU
STATEMENT BY THE ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Senate to carefully examine the civil liberties record of Judge Samuel Alito, President Bush's nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the United States Supreme Court, especially given Justice O'Connor's pivotal role on the court....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 12:43 PM ET | Comments (14)
NARAL
Press Release from NARAL: NARAL Pro-Choice America announced its opposition to President Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito, Jr. to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. In choosing Alito, President Bush gave into the demands of his far-right base and is attempting to replace the moderate O'Connor with someone who would move the court in a direction that threatens fundamental freedoms, including a woman's right to choose as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade...
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 11:38 AM ET | Comments (37)
Video: Post's Fred Barbash on Alito Nomination
Campaign for the Supreme Court blogger Fred Barbash discussed the Alito nomination in an MSNBC interview earlier today. Click below to watch it: var movieSrc = "http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=left&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=msnbc&postvideo=ms103105-4v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF MOVIE IS PUBLISHED var movieWidth = "454" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC WIDTH var movieHeight = "275" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC HEIGHT var backupGraphic = "no" ; // If you have a backup graphic "yes" or "no" var graphicSrc = "" ; var graphicLink = "" ; //requiredVersion: Change this to 8 to test your alternate text. var requiredVersion = 7; // version the user needs to view site (max is 7, min is 2) var useRedirect = false; // "true" loads new flash or non-flash page into browser // "false" embeds movie or alternate html code into current page // set next three vars if useRedirect is true... var flashPage = "flash.htm"; // the...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | October 31, 2005; 10:52 AM ET | Comments (1)
Pro-Life Action Center
Paul Chaim Schenck, director of the National Pro-Life Action Center (NPLAC) -- the uncompromising voice of pro-life America on Capitol Hill -- and Stephen G. Peroutka, NPLAC chairman, have issued the following joint statement in response to President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court of the United States: "We applaud the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States. Had the current nomination cycle begun with his nomination on July 19 of this year, we believe that the country would be well on its way to truly returning the Court to its constitutional foundation. "Judge Alito's professional qualifications for this position are clear, but his lone dissent in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision leads us to believe that he also has a firm grasp of an American view of law and justice...
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 10:40 AM ET | Comments (17)
Frist Comments
Excerpts from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) comments on Fox News: FRIST: Well, I found out early this morning, about an hour before the president's announcement. And I enthusiastically support, based on what I know to date. He is clearly a highly qualified nominee that meets the highest standards of excellence. He's shown judicial restraint in the past. This morning, I came in early to look back in 1990 at what some of the Democrats said at the time and statements from people like Frank Lautenberg, who said he was a strong and effective advocate on the floor. In 1990, he came across the floor, as you know, unanimously selected to serve on the circuit court....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 9:54 AM ET | Comments (18)
Bush-Alito Text and Background Material
Here is the text from the White House Web site of the Bush statement and Alito response. Here are links to some Alito dissents and opinions. (This will be updated regularly.) Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Newark Alito, writing for panel, rules that police department violates constitution by allowing officers to wear beards for secular (medical) reasons but not for religious reasons.Chittister v. Department of Community and Economic Development Alito, writing for panel, rules that the Family and Medical Leave Act does not abrogate state immunity under Eleventh Amendment. Employee is thus barred from suing state. U.S. v. RybarMachine guns and the Commerce Clause (dissent) "Was United States v. Lopez...a constitutional freak? Or did it signify that the Commerce Clause still imposes some meaningful limits on congressional power?" Saxe v. State College Area School District, First Amendment and anti-harassment policy. The Pitt News v....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 9:05 AM ET | Comments (21)
Video: Bush Announces Alito Nomination
Click below to watch video of President Bush's announcement of the Alito nomination: var movieSrc = "http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=left&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=politics&postvideo=103105-1v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF MOVIE IS PUBLISHED var movieWidth = "454" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC WIDTH var movieHeight = "275" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC HEIGHT var backupGraphic = "no" ; // If you have a backup graphic "yes" or "no" var graphicSrc = "" ; var graphicLink = "" ; //requiredVersion: Change this to 8 to test your alternate text. var requiredVersion = 7; // version the user needs to view site (max is 7, min is 2) var useRedirect = false; // "true" loads new flash or non-flash page into browser // "false" embeds movie or alternate html code into current page // set next three vars if useRedirect is true... var flashPage = "flash.htm"; // the location of the flash movie page var noFlashPage = "noflash.htm";...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | October 31, 2005; 9:03 AM ET | Comments (1)
Text of Bush Announcement
Text of President Bush's announcement: BUSH: Good morning. I'm pleased to announce my nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America. And his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of experience. As a Justice Department official, federal prosecutor and judge on the United States Court of Appeals, Sam Alito has shown a mastery of the law, a deep commitment of justice, and he is a man of enormous character....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 8:31 AM ET | Comments (6)
Alito Announced: PFAW Denounces
Here is a press relese from People for the American Way:BUSH PUTS DEMANDS OF FAR-RIGHT ABOVE INTERESTS OF AMERICANSWITH HIGH COURT NOMINATION OF RIGHT-WING ACTIVIST ALITO PFAW will wage massive national effort to defeat nominee who would dramatically shift balance of Court President Bush put the demands of his far-right political base above Americans' constitutional rights and legal protections by nominating federal appeals court Judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, said People for the American Way President Ralph G. Neas. "Right-wing leaders vetoed Miers because she failed their ideological litmus test. With Judge Alito, President Bush has obediently picked a nominee who passes that test with flying colors."...
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 8:26 AM ET | Comments (29)
Alito Bio From White House
Bush announced the nomination of Alito shortly after 8 a.m. JUDGE SAMUEL A. ALITO JR., BIOGRAPHY RELEASED BY WHITE HOUSE Samuel A. Alito, Jr., was born in April, 1950, in Trenton, New Jersey. Alito received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University and attended Yale Law School, where he served as an editor on the Yale Law Journal. Alito clerked for Judge Leonard Garth of the Third Circuit, who is now his colleague on that court. From 1977-1980, Alito served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the appellate division, where he argued cases before the circuit court to which he was later appointed. From 1981-1985, Alito served as Assistant to the Solicitor General. He has argued 12 cases on behalf of the federal government in the U.S. Supreme Court and he has argued numerous others before the federal courts of appeals. From 1985-1987, Alito served...
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 7:58 AM ET | Comments (12)
Here is the Alito dissent
Here is the Alito dissent in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Pennsylvania abortion case. Download alito_dissent_in_casey.pdf...
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 7:03 AM ET | Comments (33)
Alito Is the Choice
Peter Baker of The Washington Post reports that Bush will name Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the 3d Circuit to the Supreme Court....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 6:49 AM ET | Comments (24)
Reports: Definitely Alito
The AP is reporting that two Republican officials now say Judge Samuel A. Alito is indeed the choice. CNN and Reuters say they have confirmed this report. An announcement is reported set for 8 this morning....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 6:16 AM ET | Comments (1)
Alito, Luttig, Batchelder, Owen, Surprise
David D. Kirkpatrick in the New York Times has a longer short short list than The Post, which only mentions Alito, Luttig and Batchelder. Jan Crawford Greenburg in the Chicago Tribune says it's down to Alito and Luttig, but quoted sources cautioning that Bush "could pick someone else," such as Owen. Batchelder appears to be the new factor here. Here is an interesting profile in her hometown paper from 1999, courtesy of ConfirmThem (which, in its menu of profiles to the right of the page, will give you a sense of what GOP partisans are saying about various candidates). For excellent short profiles of some of the other contenders, see this July article by Emily Bazelon and David Newman in Slate....
By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 3:25 AM ET | Email a Comment
Alito, Luttig, Batchelder
Peter Baker of The Washington Post reports that an announcement may come Monday. The short, short list is down to Alito and Judges J. Michael Luttig and Alice Batchelder. (See Tom Goldstein's take on Alito and Luttig at the SCOTUS blog.) Batchelder, 61, has served on the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit since 1991 after six years as a district judge. She voted to uphold Ohio's partial-birth abortion ban and against the University of Michigan's affirmative action program. She also once sat on a case involving Wal-Mart even though her husband owned stock, for which she later admitted error, an issue that initially caused some White House concern about nominating her....
By Fred Barbash | October 30, 2005; 8:21 PM ET | Comments (6)
Cornyn Doesn't Expect to Be Asked
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), whose name was floated by some people after Miers withdrew last week, said today on ABC's "This Week" that he does not expect to be nominated by President Bush for the high court. He said he expects a solid conservative with judicial experience to be nominated....
By Lexie Verdon | October 30, 2005; 12:06 PM ET | Comments (6)
Sen. Reid Says Miers Was Not a Mistake
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate's minority leader, said on ABC's "This Week" today that Bush's nomination of Harriet MIers was not a mistake and he believes she could have done well in a nomination hearing. He urged the president not to be too quick to move to the right on a nomination and to steer toward the middle....
By Lexie Verdon | October 30, 2005; 12:02 PM ET | Comments (2)
