Posted on 02/02/2006 1:54:21 AM PST by Bullitt
New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito split with the court's conservatives Wednesday night, refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
The repugnant killer scum was scheduled to be executed on Alito's second day on the court.
How do you think his lawyer managed to time that so perfectly?
That's what I like to know.
And is the same challenge that the Supreme Court allowed to go ahead in Florida a week ago. Allowing this challenge to go forward will allow the Supreme Court a choice on which case to take and make the ultimate ruling on. It is at that point where the rubber meets the road.
I was joking.
The appeal to the supreme court was done by the state of missouri, not by the scumbag's lawyer. The lower court had already granted the stay. Alito simply voted not to overturn it on his first day. Objectively it was a conservative decision. I'm sure he was not prepared to send a man to his grave while he was unpacking his bags and had no clue as to the facts in the case.
Give it a rest.
I don't disagree with you. All I want is for people to stop mischaracterizing the circumstances of the case and of Alito's participation. It's not as if any of this is going to change what kind of justice Alito is going to be. He will be what he will be so what's up with all this strained rhetoric?
The undeniable fact of the matter is that the liberals voted one way, the conservatives voted another way, and Alito voted with the liberals, and it sure as hell wasn't because he needs to "get up to speed" or whatever such nonsense. What that all means in the long run is anyone's guess.
Hang the bozo then.
Have a little faith. This was the strongest pick Bush could have made. Sometimes legal filings are too complex to be understood by one story.
If he had a "mixed record" in the lower courts on the death penalty, he should never have been nominated.
Alito makes me nervous.
I don't think it has anything to do with pity. I think it has more to do with making absolutely sure nothing i overlooked before putting someone to death.
Harriet Miers would've executed the guy herself...
:-)
Right. That's precisely what I've been thinking.
Give it a rest.
Hey! I'm on yer side. ;)
I just don't believe we need to be tossing Alito under the bus so early on. I also believe that Alito has his own mind, and is capable of forming his own opinions and decisions without having to tow someone's line, like Scalia's.
BTW, one thing that's worth noting about Alito is that reportedly, unlike many judges, he does not have his clerks review death penalty appeals. He reviews them himself. I personally think that's very commendable. It does suggest that he has a great appreciation for the gravity of capital punishment. What more it means, who knows?
You're not alone, he frightens the liberal establishment.
exactly. if they granted a stay in a case in order to determine whether the specific lethal cocktail of chemicals is cruel and unusual in ONE case (which they have), they are going to get that same argument from attys in every death case that comes up and they will grant them, til this issue is decided.
I don't see it as a negative for a judge to have high regard for human life, especially if that respect for human life includes aborted babies.
A very similar case is further along then this one in Florida. Having two cases will allow the Supremes a choice over which case is best to make the final ruling. This ruling was not all that big of a deal, it just sets up this issue to be settled once and for all.
Much is being said about NOTHING... He did not SIDE WITH A KILLER. He heard a legal theory, and is willing to hear the arguments. Learn procedure and facts before making false accusations. This is not on the MERITS... it is about LAWS.
He will be a GREAT CONSERVATIVE SCJ...
I don't know if there's anything much to worry about for a conservative. When it comes to capital punishment, the Supreme Court justices have been more or less set in place for years now.
Stevens, Ginsburg, and Souter tend to vote to review everything, even in cases where Supreme Court precedent clearly gives no merit to the appeal.
Thomas and Scalia tend to vote to reject review always, even in cases where the death penalty could be overruled by another case pending SCOTUS review. Rehnquist was in that same camp, and it seems Roberts may now very well be also.
Kennedy, O'Connor, and Breyer were mixed in their decisions on review, but almost certainly when one pending case might overturn the death penalty in another, then they would grant a stay in the other.
It seems that Alito just falls into that camp so far as granting review. That says nothing insofar as how he will rule in the actual cases themselves.
Both O'Connor and Kennedy used to be rock-solid on the death penalty, but obviously they changed.
Read the article at Post #29. Alito does not have a "mixed record", he just appears to be very cautious when it comes to death penalty cases. By that I mean that he doesn't just rubber stamp them, he is very much toward the end of allowing every aspect of a Death Penalty case to be heard.
Also, his ruling here of returning a case claiming "Crual and Unusual punishment" is right in line with his previous rulings. From the article at post 29:
"He was on a three-judge panel that ordered a new penalty hearing in a York County case, and this year, he was part of a panel that upheld a ruling that a death sentence was unconstitutional. In two cases involving convicted murderers serving life sentences, he sent cases back for lower-court hearings so defendants could raise jury issues."
As this shows, he has upheld Cruel and Unusual cases in the past. In the past, his upholding the rulings ensured that it went to the SCOTUS, in this ruling he is telling the 8th Circuit to look at it thoroughly. That means that the case will come back before the SCOTUS again.
Another telling quote from the article at post 29:
"Lawyers familiar with the Third Circuit said that when it comes to death-penalty cases, Alito doesn't bend over backward to find errors just because it is a capital case - and he doesn't shy away from granting relief when he believes it is appropriate."
IOW, this ruling is very much in line with Alito's past rulings on Death Penalty cases, and we should expect more rulings of this type from him. It does not show that he is going to immediately align himself with the Liberals, it shows that he is not a straight IDEOLOGUE and that he looks at every single case as its own entity, and rules on each cases own merits. IOW, he is doing exactly what we have been asking for in a justice.
One final note, I want to point out to those attacking Antiguv -- he is the one who posted the article on Alito. Antiguv may be a little gruff in his manner, but he has made some valid arguments so far -- he is explaining his position and his concerns. I do not lump him in with the crybabies that were screaming we are doomed earlier in this thread.
the kneejerk criticism of Alito by Freepers on this drives me nuts. few know what was argued or even what the ruling means, and just fixate on the ALLIANCE WITH THE LEFT, which is ridiculous.
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