Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Documents Reveal More About Court Pick's Views
“As a Reagan administration lawyer in 1985, Samuel Alito made clear his hope that the Supreme Court would one day overturn a landmark ruling that established abortion rights.” But later, The New York Times reports, Alito, now a Supreme Court nominee, argued against an all-out assault on the Roe v. Wade ruling, fearing such an assault would fail. Instead, he recommended a policy of ''mitigating its effects'' by trying to persuade justices to accept state regulations on abortions.
Justices Step Into Abortion Rights Case
“The Supreme Court is considering its first abortion rights case under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, with an unpredictable outcome because of the court's changing makeup,” The New York Times reports. And the outcome is likely to signal where the high court is headed on an issue that has been emotional and divisive among the justices and around the country.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Strip-Search Case a Likely Topic at Alito Hearing
When Alito "was a member of a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, he participated in a 2003 case involving the strip-search of a 10-year-old girl," FoxNews.com reports. "The judge's comments in that matter are likely to come up again in Senate confirmation hearings as detractors call it a case that puts him outside the mainstream."
'86 Alito Memo Argues Against Foreigners' Rights
“As a senior lawyer in the Reagan Justice Department," Alito "argued that immigrants who enter the United States illegally and foreigners living outside their countries are not entitled to the constitutional rights afforded to Americans," the Washington Post reports.
Alito, in '80s, Had an Expansive View of Police Powers
"As a young Reagan administration lawyer," Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito "took an expansive view of government law-enforcement powers in numerous cases in which he was called upon to balance the prerogatives of police and prosecutors with the rights of individuals, according to 400 pages of documents released yesterday by the Justice Department," the Boston Globe reports. "The documents show that Alito once advised against including a ban on capital punishment for minors, in an agreement by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child."
Alito's Abortion Stance Tough To Decipher
“Alito's independent streak is complicating what might otherwise be an easy call as people on both sides of the abortion divide try to figure out his likely course if he were confirmed by the Senate for the Supreme Court.” Read more.
Inside the Alito Memo
Law.com has this article about U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s 1985 application for employment in the Reagan administration as a deputy assistant attorney general, and what it tells us about his views and legal philosophy.
Case Reopens Abortion Issue for Justices
According to The New York Times, “When the Supreme Court meets on Wednesday to hear its first abortion case in five years, the topic will be familiar: a requirement that doctors notify a pregnant teenager's parent before performing an abortion.”
Monday, November 28, 2005
The Solomon Choice
According to The Boston Globe, some fear that by standing up for the right to oppose the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, law schools could undermine two landmark civil rights laws.
O'Connor Fires Back on Judicial Independence
Law.com has this article describing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s speech to the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers as a “rip-snorting defense of judicial independence.”
Ind. Court Upholds Abortion Waiting Period
FindLaw has this article: “The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the state's abortion waiting-period law which requires women seeking an abortion to receive in-person counseling about medical risks and alternatives.”
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
White House Says Alito Was Assuring on Districting
“Moving to defend the Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. against attacks on his stance on civil rights, the White House said Tuesday that he had assured senators last week of his commitment to the principle of one person one vote,” reports The New York Times.
Professors Rate Alito's Judicial Record
According to Lexis, “The American Bar Association will grade Samuel Alito in the coming weeks. Alito is likely to receive the same rating that he did in 1990 when President Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, nominated him to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - unanimous well-qualified, the highest rating.”
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Dems Closely Eye Alito's Views
Newsday reports, “Sen. Joseph Biden said he and fellow Democrats are more likely to block the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito Jr. by using a filibuster after seeing statements he made in a 1985 Reagan administration job application.”
9th Circuit Backs District in Dispute Over Muslim Role-Playing
According to The First Amendment Center, “A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit brought by parents of two Christian seventh-graders who accused a Contra Costa County school of unconstitutionally indoctrinating them with Islam.”
Monday, November 21, 2005
Jewish Group Votes to Oppose Alito
Claiming that Judge Alito would "shift the ideological balance of the Supreme Court on matters of core concern to the reform movement" on abortion rights, women's rights, civil rights and the scope of federal power, the largest branch of North American Judaism voted on Sunday to oppose Alito's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more.
Alito Often Ruled for Religious Expression
According to The New York Times, “Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. has compiled a brief but unmistakable record, lawyers and analysts say, that makes him a leader in the camp of conservative theorists and judges who believe federal courts have been too quick to limit religious activities in public life.”
Friday, November 18, 2005
Nominee's Opinions Reveal Respect for Student Speech
Mark Goodman of the Student Press Law Center writes, “In his 15 years on the federal bench, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. has demonstrated an extraordinary appreciation for the First Amendment rights of children and youth.” Read more.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
With DOJ Shift, the Fight Over Splitting the 9th Circuit Heats Up
News.com has this article: “With the latest proposal to split the 9th Circuit working its way through Congress, opponents in the ever-rancorous debate have begun pulling out the big guns.”
Debate in Senate on Alito Heats Up Over '85 Memo
The New York Times reports, “The debate over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. escalated into a full-fledged fight in the Senate Wednesday as top Democrats sounded new alarms about his approach to the law and Republicans warned that any effort to block a vote on him would be ‘outrageous.’”
Some Judges Criticize Court Nominee on Civil Rights
“Some appeals judges who ruled on civil rights cases with Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. have accused him over the years of minimizing America's history of racial discrimination, weakening the courts in dealing with bias claims and placing barriers in the path of employees' civil rights suits.” Read more of this New York Times article here.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Democratic Leader Sounds Warning on Alito Nomination While Promising 'Civility and Respect'
According to FindLaw, “Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday said he has 'significant concerns' about Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, calling President George W. Bush's latest choice one of the most conservative judges in the United States.”
Bush's High Court Nominee Distances Himself from Abortion Statement
FindLaw reports that “President George W. Bush's Supreme Court nominee distanced himself Tuesday from his 1985 comments that there was no constitutional right to abortion, telling a senator in private that he had merely been ‘an advocate seeking a job.’”
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Court to Rule on Pa. Inmate Reading Privileges
The Post-Gazette reports, “The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide whether Pennsylvania's policy of withholding newspapers and magazines from especially dangerous prisoners violates their First Amendment rights.”
'85 Document Opens Window to Alito Views
According to The New York Times, “Applying for a promotion in the Reagan administration 20 years ago, Samuel A. Alito Jr. described himself as a thoroughgoing conservative ‘particularly proud’ of contributing to cases arguing ‘that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.’”
Monday, November 14, 2005
Alito is Religion-Friendly, but How Far Will He Go?
According to The First Amendment Center, predicting how Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito will rule on religious-freedom cases is like reading tea leaves: Everyone sees the message he wants to see at the bottom of the cup.
Judges in S.D. May Lose Lawsuit Immunity
Attempting to overturn more than a century of settled law in the United States, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that activists in South Dakota are trying to put a radical measure on next year's ballot that could make South Dakota the first state to let people who believe their rights have been violated by judges put those judges on trial.
Cutting His Own Path
Noting that he would be the first U.S. Supreme Court justice with substantial hands-on prosecutorial experience since Justice Earl Warren, The National Law Journal has this critique of Judge Alito’s various criminal law opinions and what they might tell us about how he would rule on the Supreme Court.
Bloomberg: N.Y. Judicial Process a 'Farce'
“Mayor Michael Bloomberg took on the state's judicial nominating system Sunday, calling it a 'farce' in which politics and 'shady back-room deals' put unqualified jurists on the bench.” Read more.
All About Alito
One of the most significant events occurring at this time is the appointment of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. The following articles analyze his prior opinions on the federal bench as an appellate judge and attempt to shed light on his judicial philosophy regarding such important issues such as abortion, free speech, and the role of precedent to bind the Court to prior decisions:
How Alito looks under the lens
State abortion foes withhold support of Alito nomination
How a single opinion molds the Alito debate
Alito: abortion ruling deserves 'great respect'
Alito's Dissents Show Deference to Lower Courts
Alito record seen as 'pro-government'
Judge Alito fairly strong on free expression
Alito as government lawyer: '84 broadcast-regulation case
