Samuel Alito's own words reveal his anti-choice legal philosophy.
In an application for a key post in the Reagan administration’s Justice Department, he wrote: "I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court . . . that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
Background on Key Rulings
· Alito has ruled that significant restrictions on a woman’s right to choose are constitutional. In Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, Alito argued that all of the statute’s restrictions on a woman’s right to choose – including a spousal-notification provision struck down by the Third Circuit and, later, the Supreme Court – were constitutional. Alito dissented in part because he would have gone even further than the rest of the court. This is a frightening portent of how Alito would rule as a justice – possibly refusing to find that even the most burdensome restrictions are unconstitutional.
The Third Circuit and the Supreme Court found that requiring women to notify their husbands could lead to coercion – physical, economic and psychological. In contrast, Alito believed that state-forced conversations might dispel some women’s concerns about the pregnancy and that the law was thus constitutional. He also stated that imposing even severe restrictions on a relatively small number of women was constitutionally permissible. Thankfully, that’s not the law now, but soon, it could be.
· Alito took pains to distance himself from longstanding constitutional requirements protecting a woman’s right to choose. He did so when ruling on a law that effectively banned abortion as early as the 12th week of pregnancy and which lacked an exception to protect women’s health. As a lower court judge, he was obliged to strike down the patently unconstitutional law, but he did so on narrow grounds and refused to endorse the broader reasoning in the Third Circuit’s opinion. Much of the law of abortion rights, including the health exception, is on the line. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments revisiting the need for the health exception this fall. Should Alito’s vote replace that of Sandra Day O’Connor, a fundamental right could be lost as soon as next summer.
Career(1)
· Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (appointed by former President George H.W. Bush), 1990-present.
· U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, 1987-90.
· Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1985-87.
· Assistant to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1981-85.
· Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey, 1977-81.
· Law Clerk to Judge Leonard Garth, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1976-77.
· Law Clerk, Warren, Goldberg & Berman, 1976.
Education
· Yale Law School, J.D., 1975.
· Princeton University, B.A., 1972.
Biographical Information
· Born April 1, 1950 in Trenton, NJ.
· Member, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
· Alito’s nickname is “Scalito,” because his judicial philosophy is akin to that of Justice Antonin Scalia (2).
Footnotes:
1. Career, Education, and Biographical Information compiled from the Federal Judicial Center and Responses of Samuel Alito, Jr., at his Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, April 5, 1990.
2. Steve Lash, Speculation flies that 2 justices may retire, DESERET NEWS, May 20, 2003, at A18.
