WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new era began at the Supreme Court Jan. 31 when Samuel Alito took a crucial seat on the panel, little more than an hour after a close Senate confirmation vote — a vote that reflected the nation's division over the court's future.
Senators confirmed Alito 58-42 shortly after 11 a.m. At 12:40 p.m., Chief Justice John Roberts swore in the new justice in a private ceremony at the court, according to the Associated Press. Of those who voted against Alito, 40 were Democrats, one was a left-leaning independent, and one — Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee — was a moderate Republican.
The level of opposition to Alito was surpassed in modern history by only two other Supreme Court nominees. Robert Bork was rejected by a Democratic-controlled Senate in 1987, and Justice Clarence Thomas was narrowly confirmed in 1991 after late-breaking allegations that he had sexually harassed a former colleague.
In contrast, Roberts — President Bush's other nominee for the high court — received only 22 votes in opposition when he was confirmed in September.
Nonetheless, the chamber's Republican leaders were all smiles in a post-confirmation press conference. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that earlier voted to recommend Alito, said he was satisfied that “Justice Alito will be a credit to the court and a credit to the country.”
And President Bush, in a statement released shortly after the vote, said the new justice “is a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench. He is a man of deep character and integrity, and he will make all Americans proud as a justice on our highest court.”
Senators had been subjected to intense pressure from special-interest groups on both sides of the debate, with many conservative groups demanding a vote in Alito's favor while abortion-rights and civil-rights groups strongly opposed him.
“With the Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Alito, Americans are threatened with an unprecedented erosion of our rights,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign, in a press release shortly after the vote.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State also issued a press release deploring the senators' decision, noting controversial statements Alito made in 1985 deriding Supreme Court decisions that established a high wall of separation between church and state and recognized a right to abortion.
“We firmly believe that Sam Alito meant what he said in 1985 about his staunch belief that the … Court got it wrong on church-state matters and that the Constitution does not provide protection for reproductive rights,” said AU's executive director Barry Lynn.
“Sadly the Senate has now given Alito the opportunity to attack longstanding federal court precedent protecting individual freedom,” Lynn said.
The division over Alito owes, in part, to the fact he replaces retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. O'Connor proved to be a crucial vote on the closely divided court. In particular, she has regularly voted to uphold the core of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. She also has generally supported a strong view of church-state separation.
Alito, however, is widely expected to approach such questions differently.
During his confirmation hearings before the committee Jan. 9-13, Alito avoided answers that might make clear how he would vote on controversial issues if they come before him on the high court. However, he also declined to endorse the Roe decision as “settled law” or distance himself significantly from statements he made in the past setting forth anti-abortion views and views in opposition to strong church-state separation.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in an ad-libbed Jan. 30 speech that revealed the sort of passion rarely seen on the Senate floor, said Alito would vote to reverse 40 years of progress achieved by what Bush and others would label “judicial activism.”
“Too much blood has been shed in those battles — too much sweat, too many tears — to put at risk that march for progress. And that is what we are doing with this nominee,” Kennedy said, his voice rising and his face getting redder. “He failed to demonstrate before the Judiciary Committee that he was committed to the continued march toward progress. He doesn't have to say how he is going to vote on a particular case, but he has to make it clear that he understands what this nation is all about, why we are the envy of the world with the progress that we have made to knock down the walls of discrimination and prejudice and open up new opportunities for progress for our people. That is the definition of America.”
Republicans and groups supporting Alito accused Democrats of imposing a judicial “litmus test” because they fear he will support overturning — or at least severely limiting the scope of — the Roe decision.
“They allowed outside, hard-left activist groups to dictate votes,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) told reporters after Alito was confirmed.
But the Judiciary Committee's senior Democrat said the pro-Alito forces had their own litmus test, recalling Bush's original nominee for O'Connor's seat.
“Several Republican senators said that judicial philosophy and personal views do not matter, because judges should just apply the rule of law as if it were some mechanical calculation,” he said in Jan. 30 comments during floor debate. “Personal views and judicial philosophy often come into play on close and controversial cases. We all know this to be true. Why else did Republican supporters force President Bush to withdraw his previous nominee for this vacancy, Harriet Miers, before she even had a hearing? She failed their judicial philosophy litmus test.”
But Specter — who supports abortion rights, and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), a staunch abortion opponent, told reporters they hadn't voted for Alito because of their perception of how he might vote on Roe.
“Neither Arlen nor I — nor, my guess is, Sam Alito — know how he would rule on this or any other issue,” Brownback said.
Nonetheless, groups that oppose legalized abortion were quick to praise Alito's confirmation.
“[W]e are encouraged by his deep respect for the rule of law and the limited role a justice plays when interpreting that law,” said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, in a statement released after the confirmation vote. “We do not suggest an understanding of how Justice Alito will rule on particular matters before the court, but we remain confident in the judicial philosophy he has aspired toward.”
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