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November 15, 2005
CourtBriefs for Nov. 15, 2005: Red Meat
"There's a lot to chew on," writes Steve Benen at the Carpetbagger Report. What's he salivating about? News that then-assistant to the solicitor general Samuel Alito wrote in a 1985 promotion application, "I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
The right jab: Sen. Dianne Feinstein says Alito told her today, "I was an advocate seeking a job, it was a political job and that was 1985" (AP via ABC News). Writes Andrew at conservative Confirm Them blog in response, "Can't argue with those facts. Everyone can go back to sleep now." Scott Johnson at Powerline says the quotes "corroborate our take on Judge Alito. He represents the best of a generation of conservative lawyers who came to maturity in the aftermath of the Warren Court and its transformation of the judiciary into the most dangerous branch."
Fighting words: The reliable Ann Althouse calls the two sides out: "With this letter, we enter a new phase of the nomination process, in which the opponents have something very substantial to talk about. And, indeed, they must fight, based on this." She outlines the ground: the legal effect of personal beliefs, and a debate between conservative and liberal legal positions. David Kravitz at Blue Mass Group echoes Althouse: "These ought to be excellent confirmation hearings.... Alito has basically nowhere to hide. He's going to be asked the big, hard questions, and he will have to answer them — if he doesn't, he shouldn't be confirmed."
Call to arms: One jurist who hasn't changed his legal views since 1985 is Stephen Reinhardt, the 9th Circuit Court judge in L.A. who makes Daily Kos' liberal Supreme Court dream team. In the latest Harper's magazine (no link available), Reinhardt takes exception to University of Chicago prof Cass Sunstein, who wrote in September, "Most modern constitutional disputes can be understood in terms of the division between fundamentalists and minimalists," which he defined as jurists committed to an "original understanding" of the Constitution and those who "dislike ambitious theories and prefer to avoid taking sides in large-scale social controversies." Added Sunstein, "The center has become the left. The right is now the center. The left no longer exists." Ripostes Reinhardt, "There is indeed a constitutional philosophy that is preferable to minimalism or fundamentalism: it's called liberalism."
And yes, Alito got the job as deputy assistant to Attorney General Edwin Meese III.
Posted at November 15, 2005 03:37 PM