President Bush Appoints Alito

• October 31, 2005

I had a feeling that this is who it was going to be.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush, stung by the rejection of his first choice, nominated conservative judge Samuel Alito on Monday to replace moderate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in a bid to reshape the Supreme Court and mollify his political base.
“Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America,” the president said in announcing Alito’s selection. “He’s got a mastery of the law and a deep commitment to justice.” Bush exhorted the Senate to confirm his choice by the end of the year.
The choice was likely to spark a political brawl. Unlike the nomination of Harriet Miers, which was derailed Thursday by Bush’s conservative allies, Alito faces opposition from Democrats.
“The Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

U.S. News and World Report has a profile of Alito up here
Excerpt:

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.”

Summary of important decisions written by Alito here.
From what I see so far I’m satisfied with this pick. It seems to me like this is who President Bush should have nominated in the first place. He’s not Janice Rogers Brown, of course, but he’ll do.

Tags: Politics

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&heellip; President Bush Appoints Alito By Rob on October 31, 2005 at 9:28 am &heellip;
Dave

Poor Italian Immigarant arrives in the United States, works hard …. to have his son nominated for a position on the highest bench in the Land.

Yet another immigrant taking a job that could have gone to one of “us.”

They took our jobs!!!
MikeAdamson

Interesting article in the NYT about Supreme Court Justices and their rates of overturning Congressional legislation. If Bush is looking for less judicial activism then he may be on the wrong track.
kevin

I read where Alito was a federal prosecutor and has been on the federal bench for 15 years. It seems he is qualified to be on the SC, better qualified that Harriet Maiers was. It is pretty sad, maybe even pretty sick, that our collective focus is on abortion. We have more significant problems than this.
Dave

MI wrote:

Hopefully he won’t actually be a “Scalito” after all, and has been on the bench long enough to wash off any ideological bent.

I actually wouldn’t mind if the next judge DID have an ideological bent–as long as that “bent” was libertarian, as Brown’s was.

For those of you hoping the new Supreme Court might put an end to some of the more troublesome aspects of Bush’s treatment of suspected terrorists, it doesn’t look good–Alito is another Ashcroft in his 4th Amendment rulings.
modern instances

Hopefully he won’t actually be a “Scalito” after all, and has been on the bench long enough to wash off any ideological bent.
john

I bet the Rep’s.’ will be happy about this one, the Dem’s unhappy, and the rest of the nation, well, maybe, confused.
At least this judge has a lengthy record; one that can be examined and his position on some issues illuminated.
It is the sort of a “rags to riches” story that Amerika loves, Poor Italian Immigarant arrives in the United States, works hard …. to have his son nominated for a position on the highest bench in the Land.
I hope that enough of Alito’s record is revealed so that the American public can be informed of his judicial philosophy and call, mail, email their congressional representatives with their preferences…
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

I actually wouldn’t mind if the next judge DID have an ideological bent–as long as that “bent” was libertarian, as Brown’s was.

You’re assuming that a libertarian bent ensures someone who can rule based on a strict interpretation of the constitution. I’m not sure that’s true.

Frankly, I’d be in favor of putting Hillary Clinton on the high bench if I were convinced she could set her ideology aside and rule on the text of the Constitution.

For those of you hoping the new Supreme Court might put an end to some of the more troublesome aspects of Bush’s treatment of suspected terrorists, it doesn’t look good–Alito is another Ashcroft in his 4th Amendment rulings.

I still think you’re wrong about Brown ruling against the Bush administration’s treatment of captured enemy combatants. I am convinced that Brown is capable of ruling on a strict interpretation of the Constitution, and nowhere in that document do I see the rights of U.S. citizens being extended to prisoners of war.

You seem to want Brown to be a judicial activist, only in the “libertarian bent,” as you’ve described it.

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