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President
Picks Conservative for Supreme Court |
Posted:
10.31.05
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President Bush nominated a conservative judge, Samuel Alito,
to the Supreme Court Monday, a choice sure to anger Democrats
who say Alito would swing the court dramatically to the right.
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President Bush's announcement comes less than a week after his
original nominee, White House lawyer Harriet Miers, withdrew following
criticism from the president's own party about her qualifications
and legal philosophy.
"I'm confident that the United States Senate will be impressed
by Judge Alito's distinguished record, his measured judicial temperament
and his tremendous personal integrity," President Bush said.
The choice comes at a time when President Bush's popularity is
at a new low: support for the war in Iraq is dwindling as more
American soldiers are killed and a top White House aide, I. Lewis
"Scooter" Libby was indicted last week in a case connected
to information leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
The question for Democrats is whether they will try to block
a vote on Alito's nomination. Alito would succeed retiring Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor, a pivotal vote on the court on abortion,
affirmative action and other social issues.
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Who is Judge
Alito ? |
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Alito is currently a judge on a federal appeals court - one
step down from the U.S. Supreme Court. The United States is divided
into 13 judicial circuits, each with a court of appeals. Alito's
circuit covers New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
 Although
he has worked on more than 3,500 cases in his career and issued
more than 300 opinions as judge, there are a handful of decisions
that will likely be under the microscope when the Senate Judiciary
Committee opens hearings on his nomination.
Alito played a role in two high-profile abortion cases. In 1991,
he voted to uphold a Pennsylvania law requiring a wife to tell
her husband if she wants to have an abortion. That ruling was
later struck down by the Supreme Court. In 2000, he ruled to overturn
a New Jersey ban on a late-term procedure that opponents call
partial-birth abortion, saying that he was bound by the Supreme
Court ruling. The question will be whether he feels that as a
member of the top court in the land, he would be free to change
the course of laws concerning abortions.
Alito graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law School.
If confirmed, he would be the second Italian-American Catholic
to join the high court after Justice Antonin Scalia. The similarities
between the two men, both judicial conservatives, have earned
Alito the nickname "Scalito."
He and his wife live in New Jersey and have a son in college
and a daughter in high school.
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A fight brewing
in the Senate |
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Democrats have threatened a stage a major battle against the
candidate that could snarl Senate business for months. Over the
weekend, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader,
warned President Bush not to pick Alito, saying "it would
create a lot of problems."
Since Republicans hold 55 of the 100 Senate seats, Democrats
would have to use the filibuster technique -- long speeches that
would essentially keep the Senate from getting anything done --
to stall Alito's confirmation.
 However,
Republicans have fired back that they would consider what has
become known as the "nuclear option": a change to Senate
rules that would strip Democrats of their ability to filibuster
the judicial nominees.
The head of the Judicial Committee, Republican Arlen Specter
of Pennsylvania said he was "very worried" about the
possibility of a filibuster.
"The topic which dominates the discussion, as we all know,
is a woman's right to choose," said the senator, who supports
abortion rights.
He continued: "You have both sides poles apart, and insistent
on finding some answer to that question in advance of the hearing,
which no one is entitled to. Guarantees are for used cars and
washing machines, not Supreme Court justices."
--
Compiled from wire reports and other media sources for NewsHour
Extra
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Joplin was able to rise from the ashes because of help from everyone. And I am eternally grateful to anyone who made that possible.
