Few Glimmers of How Conservative Alito Is (align him with Scalia, Thomas)

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Few Glimmers of How Conservative Judge Alito Is
By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: January 13, 2006


WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 - In over 18 hours responding to some 700 questions at his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. mostly described a methodical and incremental approach to the law rooted in no particular theory.

But to the extent Judge Alito claimed a judicial philosophy, it aligned him with the court's two most conservative members, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas....

***

On one of the few occasions Judge Alito spoke about his general approach to the law, he embraced a mode of constitutional interpretation known as originalism and often associated with Justices Scalia and Thomas.

"In interpreting the Constitution," Judge Alito said Wednesday, "I think we should look to the text of the Constitution, and we should look to the meaning that someone would have taken from the text of the Constitution at the time of its adoption."...Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., by contrast, described a more eclectic and dynamic approach to constitutional interpretation at his confirmation hearings in September.

"Judge Alito sounded less amenable to constitutional evolution than Roberts," said Cass R. Sunstein, a law professor at the University of Chicago who studied Judge Alito's dissenting opinions at the request of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, but has taken no position on the nomination. "He is someone who is more likely to vote with Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas than Justice O'Connor."...


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/13/politics/politicsspecial1/13legal.html?hp&ex=1137128400&en=065a40629131d8e0&ei=5094&partner=homepage


ON EDIT, adding WP article, indicating Alito would likely shift Court to the right --

WP: Right Cautious Nominee
Measured Replies Paint Picture With a Conservative Tint
By Charles Lane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 13, 2006; Page A06

Samuel A. Alito Jr. did everything he could do to avoid saying how he would rule on the big issues that might come before the Supreme Court if, as now seems likely, he is confirmed by the Senate and succeeds Sandra Day O'Connor.

Yet even his cautious answers to questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee contained evidence that the court could shift to the right once the federal appellate judge takes O'Connor's seat.

Though he distanced himself from his youthful expressions of support for the conservative Concerned Alumni of Princeton and the ill-fated nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court in 1987, Alito, 55, stood by the generally conservative opinions he has written as an appellate judge. When Democrats repeatedly sought to portray those decisions as insensitive to the rights and concerns of minorities or working-class people, Alito explained why he thought the law had required him to rule as he did.

And when Alito described his personal history, his comments revealed a man whose conservatism developed not only in the cool corridors of a law library but also in the heated backlash against the perceived excesses of 1960s and 1970s liberalism.

Alito could thus form a relatively solid conservative bloc with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. The court has four liberal-leaning members: Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/12/AR2006011202015.html

[AX10]

1. Alito does not want to "amend" the Constitution.

Samuel Alito wants to rape it. :puke: PIG!

[Bozita]

2. "At best, he's a Scalia; at worst, he's another Clarence Thomas."

That's from one of the parade of pundits appearing on the cable news channels.

Sorry, can't remember which one.

[Pirate Smile]

3. NYT: After Alito's Testimony, Democrats Still Dislike Him but Can't Stop

Another NYT article:

After Alito's Testimony, Democrats Still Dislike Him but Can't Stop Him

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 - Judge Samuel A. lito Jr. completed his testimony at his Supreme Court confirmation hearings on Thursday to a blast of opposition from Democrats, who signaled they would not support him. They also indicated, however, that they saw little chance of blocking his confirmation, even with a filibuster.

Several Democratic senators took the step of announcing, as Judge Alito sat before them, that they had been alienated by his 18 hours of testimony, which left them with doubts about his credibility, as well as deep concern about his record on abortion rights and his views on the White House's effort to expand the definition of executive power.
It seemed clear that Judge Alito, in contrast to John C. Roberts Jr., will draw few if any Democratic votes in the committee, and when his nomination goes to the full Senate.

-snip-
Democrats have blocked some of President Bush's nominations to federal court positions using a filibuster or threat of extended debate, but some Democrats and Republicans said they would agree to a filibuster only in extraordinary circumstances. Democrats said it was unlikely they could assemble the support needed for a filibuster, but said they would decide next week.

-snip-
The chances of a Democratic filibuster faded after the third day of hearings, as a spokeswoman for Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, a moderate Republican, announced that Ms. Snowe would oppose it. Her decision is pivotal because she was one of seven Republicans who had joined an earlier successful effort to block Republican leaders from changing Senate rules to prevent filibusters against judicial nominations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/13/politics/politicsspecial1/13confirm.html

[GrumpyGreg]

4. You never know---remember Earl Warren?

[antonialee839]

5. Few glimmers? All you need to do is to read a few of his decisions

and the "few glimmers" become millions of glass shards reflected in a blazing sun. Freaking NY Times. Absolutely hopeless.