New Supreme Court Nominee Announced; Conservatives Praise, Support Choice
President Bush announced his nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Monday morning, drawing quick support and praise of some Christian conservative groups.
President Bush announced his new nominee for the Supreme Court Monday morning after former nominee Harriet Miers withdrew last week.
“I'm pleased to announce my nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” the president announced this morning in the Cross Hall of the White House. “Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America, and his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of experience.”
After the announcement, some Christian leaders and organizations quickly rallied behind Bush’s pick, declaring that Bush had nominated a judge consistent with his campaign promise.
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"I am pleased with President Bush's nomination of Judge Alito,” stated Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Florida-based Liberty Counsel. “While Liberty Counsel believed President Bush made a mistake in appointing Harriet Miers, we stand ready to support the President in this nomination.”
“We applaud the President for keeping his campaign promise to nominate candidates to the Supreme Court who respect the rule of law and will decide cases on a principled basis instead of imposing their will by judicial fiat,” Staver added, in a statement released this morning. “Judge Alito's record makes it clear that he respects the proper role of the Supreme Court, and we look forward to seeing Alito's opinions as a Supreme Court Justice."
In a similar show of support, Concerned Women for America (CWA) said "Judge Alito has always been one of our top choices for the Supreme Court."
"He has all of the qualifications needed: intellect, knowledge and experience in constitutional law, integrity, competence, humility and judicial temperament," commented Jan LaRue, CWA’s chief counsel, in a released statement.
Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, founder and chairman of CWA, congratulated President Bush on “an excellent choice” and urged the Senate to hold “fair and dignified hearings and a speedy vote for this worthy nominee.”
During Alito’s 29 years of service, the U.S. Court of Appeals judge said he had the opportunity to view the Supreme Court from a variety of perspectives – as an attorney in the Solicitor General's Office, arguing and briefing cases before the Supreme Court, as a federal prosecutor, and most recently for the last 15 years as a judge of the Court of Appeals.
“During all of that time, my appreciation of the vital role that the Supreme Court plays in our constitutional system has greatly deepened,” stated Alito, who has argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court.
Conservative Christians expressed approval of Alito’s court record including his support on placing restrictions on abortion, such as parental and spousal notification.
"We applaud the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States,” stated National Pro-Life Action Center (NPLAC) Director Paul Chaim Schenck and NPLAC Chairman Stephen G. Peroutka.
"Judge Alito's professional qualifications for this position are clear, but his lone dissent in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision leads us to believe that he also has a firm grasp of an American view of law and justice that is necessary to fulfill his duties. “
In the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey at the Third Circuit, Alito wrote the only dissent stating that he would have found a state law constitutional that required women to notify their husbands prior to having an abortion, according to Liberty Counsel.
"This is a great day for Democracy in America,” said Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate of the United States, in response to today’s nomination. “Samuel Alito is a highly qualified nominee. He is a proven originalist who respects the constitution and will help restore judicial restraint to the Court.”
Public Advocate – an organization that supports school prayer and the freedom of religious expression in public places, as well as faith-based and community initiatives – was the first group to oppose the Miers nomination and one of the few conservative groups to oppose the Roberts nomination to the Supreme Court.
”Although we opposed the Roberts and Miers nominations, we will fight vigorously for Judge Alito. We thank President Bush for this principled nomination. We welcome President Bush with open arms back to the conservative movement."
According to AP, Alito has remained consistently conservative and has been called “Scalito” or “Scalia-lite” by some lawyers for his judicial likeness to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
