Well, Alito played the "secret moderate" today... my jaw dropped

[stevietheman]

Justice Alito parts with conservatives on execution

New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito broke ranks with the court's conservatives late on Wednesday, refusing to allow Missouri to execute a man convicted of kidnapping and killing a Kansas City teenager 17 years ago, CNN reported.

Alito sided with the majority in a 6-3 vote rejecting a last minute request to allow Missouri to carry out the execution of Michael Taylor, 39, by lethal injection at midnight, CNN said.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas supported allowing the execution to proceed, CNN reported.

I don't know if this is a sign, but it's certainly good that Alito doesn't appear to be the *total* whack-job he was being marketed as.

[deadparrot]

I'm taking it with a grain of salt,

but I'm still tempted to go over to Freeperland and see heads explode. :)

[stevietheman]

10. I just went over there... they are quite confused (as usual). n/t

n/t

[Nutmegger]

1. Yes, he played this card well

I'm more interested in this NSA crapola. Hasn't the ACLU filed a suit? It's bound to wind up on the SC.

[WinkyDink]

2. I wonder what the technicality was. That's all Alito grasps, even if

once or twice it's for the right reason.

[MADem]

Doubleclick, sorry...nt

[MADem]

4. There's a similar case coming out of FL

If that one flies, and the whole issue of cruel and unusual does make it to the Supremes, he doesn't want blood on his hands should the argument against it convince them.

[tritsofme]

3. My best guess is that he erred on the side of caution

Since he just joined the court yesterday and may not have had time to properly review the case.

I'm sure he will join his master Scalia soon enough, and I wouldn't take too much heart in the ruling.

[davepc]

5. All's he did was vote to continue the stay and let the appeals court..

hear the case.

I don't know why people are playing this up as some shocking vote.

but I guess "ALITO VOTES TO LET LOWER COURT HEAR DEFENDATS APPEAL IN DEATH PEANALTY CASE" doesn't sound as sexy.

[pinniped]

6. My thoughts exactly.

Pure charade.

I noticed all the gun-nuts on the gun-nut boards got a hard-on for this dude. This comes as no surprise because whatever their idiot presidunce does, they support 110%. Only a few take notice of the dangerous path this country is headed with * at the wheel.

[annabanana]

19. Boy are THEY in for a surprise!

It'll be time for those "cold, dead, hands" that we've heard so much about.

[punpirate]

7. Don't count on this as a trend...

... he's being watched, and will be for a while. When it comes to the big-gun issues a few months from now, watch what he does then. Watch what sort of cases he votes to take.

[upi402]

8. Rope-A-dope?

feign
juke
?

[godai]

20. Exactly...6-3 or 5-4. His vote was meaningless (eom)

[NMMNG]

9. Wait and see

That's all I'm going to do. It's his first case on SCOTUS, so it's impossible to determine what his pattern is going to be at this time. It will be interesting to see how things play out.

[Boo Boo]

11. Not really. He just joined the the Court.

Kinda hard to vote to kill somebody when you haven't even heard the case. Come to think about it, this was a nice freebie. Gives him a chance to vote apart from the other Federalist Freaks, and make all us mouth-foaming lefties look like we had our panties all in a bunch over nothing.

Let's see how he votes when W's "Unitary Executive" claim gets it's day in court.

[annabanana]

18. my perspective exactly..

This one is a "gimme". It has a profound effect on ONE citizen (and his family). The rulings that count are the ones that impact everyone.

[rpannier]

12. According to court watchers

his appelate court rulings on the death penalty was always a mixed bag.

[goodboy]

13. That's like a lead-off batter lettin' the first pitch go by...IMO (nt)

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. Agreed.

I didn't read too much into it. I saw it as,"See? Look at me! I can be moderate."

[LittleClarkie]

14. That's only once. Let him do it again.

I want to see the veins on the temples of my freeper friends bulge.

[xchrom]

15. it wasn't about a vagina.

therefore it wasn't a pressing concern.

[cornermouse]

17. Its going to take more than that.

Supporting the strip search of a 10 year old is what did it for me. No child should ever have that happen to them. That is so out of bounds.