By Bret Schulte
Nicknamed "Scalito" for views resembling those of conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito Jr. is a favorite son of the political right. Appointed in 1990 by George H.W. Bush to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Alito has earned a reputation for intellectual rigor and polite but frequent dissent in a court that has been historically liberal. His mettle, as well as a personable demeanor and ties to former Republican administrations, has long had observers buzzing about his potential rise to the high court. "Sam Alito is in my mind the strongest candidate on the list," says Pepperdine law Prof. Douglas Kmiec. "I know them all . . . but I think Sam is a standout because he's a judge's judge. He approaches cases with impartiality and open-mindedness."
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Other Potential Nominees:
Emilio Garza
Alberto R. Gonzales
Edith Hollan Jones
Michael Luttig
Michael McConnell
John Roberts
J. Harvie Wilkinson III
Photo: U.S. Court of Appeals–3rd Circuit/AP
A New Jersey native, the 55-year-old Alito received a bachelor's degree from Princeton and graduated from Yale Law School. He worked in the solicitor general's office during the Reagan administration and was a U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey when George H.W. Bush nominated him to the Third Circuit. His 15 years on the bench have been marked by strong conservatism on a case-by-case basis that avoids sweeping opinions on constitutionality.
In 1997, Alito authored the majority opinion upholding a city's right to stage a holiday display that included a Nativity scene and a menorah because the city also included secular symbols and a banner emphasizing the importance of diversity. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Alito was the sole dissenter on the Third Circuit, which struck a Pennsylvania law that required women seeking abortions to consult their husbands. He argued that many of the potential reasons for an abortion, such as "economic constraints, future plans, or the husbands' previously expressed opposition . . . may be obviated by discussion prior to abortion." The case went on to the Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court's decision 6 to 3.
Alito's conservative stripes are equally evident in criminal law. Lawrence Lustberg, a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer who has known Alito since 1981 and tried cases before him on the Third Circuit, describes him as "an activist conservatist judge" who is tough on crime and narrowly construes prisoners' and criminals' rights. "He's very prosecutorial from the bench. He has looked to be creative in his conservatism, which is, I think, as much a Rehnquist as a Scalia trait," Lustberg says.
Some observers say that Alito cannot be easily pigeon-holed. In Saxe v. State College Area School District, Alito, writing for the panel, argued that the school does not have the right to punish students for vulgar language or harassment when it doesn't disrupt the school day. "Sam struck that down as a violation of free speech," Kmiec says. "That's not a conservative outcome."
Off the bench, friends and colleagues describe Alito as quiet and self-effacing with a wry sense of humor. He is a voracious reader with a particular love for biographies and history. With his wife, Martha, he has a son in college and a daughter in high school. "He's mild mannered and generous and family oriented," Lustberg says. "I don't agree with him on many issues, but I have the utmost respect for him. No one can question his intelligence or integrity."
I'm having pleasant fantasies this morning about the possibility of Ginsberg resigning when Alito joins the court since she will be unable, I sincerely hope, to continue imposing her liberal agenda on this country.
Why is that not a conservative outcome?
Good morning....just wondering..did you happen to see the piece in yesterday's NY Times editorial section about Luttig's opinion upholding, to some extent, the idea of a "super" stare decisis?...Could be what doomed his chances..worth reading.
ABC is stating that Alito is definitely the President's choice. Now the only question remains...can the President get this guy confirmed? We have seven weak Rino's in the Senate. I will wait and see. I was not sure when many hear called for a real conservative exactly how such a candidate would be confirmed.
HEre comes the fillibuster again...
OK. It looks like President Bush has kept his promise (finally...) to appoint someone in the mold of Scalia and Thomas.
Now, is Bush ready to pull out the heavy artillery? Are the spineless Senate Republicans ready for the fight of the ages? Are WE ready for this battle? I hope so, because so much rests upon it.
Defending free speech is not conservative??? duh
The "minority" dissenters in Casey were Rehnquist, Thomas, White and Scalia.
Findlaw quotes them thus:
"JUSTICE SCALIA, joined by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, JUSTICE WHITE, and JUSTICE THOMAS, concluded that a woman's decision to abort her unborn child is not a constitutionally protected "liberty," because (1) the Constitution says absolutely nothing about it, and (2) the longstanding traditions of American society have permitted it to be legally proscribed."
Alito is nicknamed "Scalito" not only for his views, but for his very similar biography. Compare Sam Alito's biography to his fellow Italian Catholic New Jersey native Antonin Scalia's biography.