Alito Poses Grave Threats to Progressive Values
By Shahid Buttar, PDA Activist and Lawyer Based in Washington, D.C.
January 16, 2006--President Bush's nomination of Third Circuit Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court poses grave threats to numerous progressive values. Unlike now-Chief Justice John Roberts, Judge Alito has an extensive paper trail documenting his right-wing political agenda – which he has actively advanced, not only as a high-ranking official in the Reagan Administration, but also as a judge.
- Alito has publicly supported the "Unitary Executive" theory, a radical notion that the President holds exclusive and inherent authority to execute all federal law. While it may sound innocuous, the theory's implications are chilling, as it would support the President's asserted authority to detain and torture at will. In fact, the President recently signed the McCain amendment barring torture, while reserving the right to disregard it at will in a "signing statement" – a novel contrivance first proposed by none other than Sam Alito. The theory has no apparent limiting principles, and could threaten the fundamental separation of powers on which our government was founded.
- Alito has supported efforts to curtail privacy rights, including not only privacy from government surveillance and arbitrary arrest, but also other constitutional rights based on privacy. These include, for example, both freedom of sexual orientation and reproductive liberty for women. In his hearings last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Alito refused to grant Roe v. Wade the same deference as did Roberts in his hearings last summer, and has even voted to curtail Roe in an opinion ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court.
- Alito has outspokenly sought to restrict Congress' power, limiting the scope of the Commerce Clause of Article I of the Constitution. His support for the conservative "Federalist" revolution threatens the basis for both civil rights and environmental laws, and could even prevent Congress from taking future steps demanded by the electorate in those areas.
- Alito has consistently applied his discretion as a judge in favor of certain interests and against others. For instance, individual plaintiffs alleging discrimination by employers, citizens seeking enforcement of environmental statutes, or defendants seeking protection from constitutional violations by police or prosecutors face an uphill battle in his courtroom. While his opinions may seem well-reasoned, he rarely votes against big business, police or prosecutors. He has even upheld a death sentence later reversed by the Supreme Court for racial bias, comparing discrimination against black jurors to the propensity of recent presidents to be left-handed.
Alito's paper trail is not the only distinction between he and Chief Justice John Roberts, who was confirmed to fill the seat vacated by his mentor, former Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Whereas Rehnquist was an architect of the conservative judicial revolution, a reliable vote in favor of conservative interests, Alito has been nominated to fill the seat vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor – the first woman to sit on the Court, and a frequent "swing" vote controlling the Court's decisions in numerous controversial cases. Should Alito fill O'Connor's seat, the Court's entire body of existing jurisprudence will be at risk. For the first time since the 1930s, the Court will be ruled by a majority devoted to restricting Congress' authority, and aggrandizing both the President and the courts.
The Senate's vote on Alito's nomination later this month (and possibly as early as this week) will be the most significant political showdown since the 2004 election, and holds far greater long-term consequences for our democracy. We urge you to call your Senator to demand a vote against confirmation – or, if necessary, support for a filibuster.
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