Committee delves into Alito's past

Firing off question after question, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee probed Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito throughout the day Tuesday regarding his judicial ideologies and past rulings.

Alito answered on a wide range of hot-button issues, including a woman's right to choose, executive power, judicial activism, as well as his past actions, both personal and on the bench.

Currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Alito was tapped by President Bush for the job in October.

His membership in the group Concerned Alumni of Princeton, an organization known for its resistance to the enrollment of women and minorities in the university, was of keen interest to many senators.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt, notably argued that with Alito's father being an Italian immigrant, Alito should have been more prone to opposing such an organization than to supporting it.

"I have racked my memory about this issue, and I really have no specific recollection of that organization," Alito said. "But since I put it down on that statement, then I certainly must have been a member at that time."

"But if I had been actively involved in the organization in any way, if I had attended meetings, or been actively involved in any way, I would certainly remember that, and I don't," he added.

The issue of U.S. military recruiters on college campuses was discussed briefly during the hearing, specifically in reference to a case argued in front of the Supreme Court on Dec. 6 that remains unresolved.

Known as Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, the case debates the Solomon Amendment, which withholds federal funding from colleges and universities that do not allow military representatives to recruit on campus.

Senators focused more heavily on the issue of abortion, specifically questioning Alito on two of his actions related to abortion.

In 1985 Alito wrote a memorandum to then-Solicitor General Charles Fried outlining a way to overturn the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Alito also voted opposite the Supreme Court in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey when it was first decided in his court. The 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court in this case reaffirmed Roe and established a woman's ability to have an abortion without the consent of her husband.

With recent claims from the Bush administration that federal wiretapping of U.S. citizens without warrants is allowed constitutionally, many questioned Alito on executive branch power.

"Do you agree with Justice (Sandra Day) O'Connor's statement quoted frequently yesterday from Hamdi that, quote, 'We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens'?" said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

"Absolutely," Alito responded. "Our Constitution applies in times of peace and in times of war, and it protects the rights of Americans under all circumstances."

Michael Gerhardt, professor of law at UNC, said Alito seemed to be doing well under pressure.

"I think that he's obviously being very careful. He's trying to not commit himself," Gerhardt said. "He's clearly trying to err on the side of saying too little than too much."

An expert on constitutional law, Gerhardt is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

"He's certainly got the intellectual candle power to do the job well, there's no question about that," said Eric Muller, UNC law professor and former assistant to Alito when he served as U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey.

"The question it seems to me is not only does he have the intellectual firepower, but is he the appropriate choice for the Court at this particular point in its history."

 

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