CNS News - Reaction to Supreme Court Nominee Judge Samuel Alito

October 31, 2005

Susan Jones, Senior Editor

(CNSNews.com) - In a statement released Monday morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid complained that the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito did not result from consultation with Senate Democrats.

Reid said he was disappointed in the pick. "I look forward to meeting Judge Alito and learning why those who want to pack the court with judicial activists are so much more enthusiastic about him than they were about Harriet Miers," Reid said in a press release.

On Sunday, Reid said the nomination of Alito would create problems for Democrats.

Speaking on CNN's ''Late Edition," Reid said, "That is not one of the names that I've suggested to the president. In fact, I've done the opposite. I think it would create a lot of problems."

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, called Alito's selection "sad" -- something that is "likely to divide America."

But early reaction from the right was enthusiastic.

Manuel Miranda, chair of the Third Branch Conference, was an early and vociferous critic of the Harriet Miers nomination, but on Monday, Miranda had nothing but praise for the president's latest pick.

"The nomination of Samuel A. Alito to service on the Supreme Court is consummately in keeping with President Bush's trust and mandate from the American people to be a steward, together with the Senate, of the third branch of government," Miranda said.

"Judge Alito is a constitutionalist who has weathered one of the more liberal federal circuit courts in the country," Miranda said, adding that he is "immensely well qualified."

Miranda said Judge Alito "deserves an honest up-or-down vote, and in the process, the American people deserve a national debate worthy of us."

Ditto

"Judge Alito is an extraordinary nominee," said Jeff Mazzella, president of the Center for Individual Freedom, a group that advocates the selection of judges who will not legislate from the bench.

"Judge Alito is a supremely qualified, mainstream conservative choice. In making this selection, the president has made the best possible choice. Judge Alito has a first rate intellect, legal credentials, and judicial experience," Mazzella added.

As for rumblings of a filibuster, the Center for Individual Freedom said it's never appropriate to obstruct a judicial nominee.
"Instead of making the confirmation process a war, Senators should make sure that the process is fair. And it must include a fair hearing, prompt committee vote, and a simple up-or-down vote on the Senate floor," Mazzella concluded.

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who generally supports the president, and who strongly backed the selection of Harriet Miers, called Judge Alito a man of outstanding character who is deeply committed to public service.

"Unfortunately, as we saw with the nomination of Chief Justice John Roberts, it appears that some on the other side of the aisle will not support any nominee who shares a philosophy of judicial restraint. Partisan politics must be put aside, allowing the Senate to focus on the nominee's qualifications."

Cornyn reminded Senate Democrats that President Bush has engaged in "unprecedented consultation" with the Senate.

"It is now the responsibility of the Senate to consider this nomination in a thorough and timely fashion," he said, especially since the court has been in session for a month -- without a replacement for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"All nominees deserve a fair process and an up-or-down vote," Cornyn said. "No nominee should be used as a political pawn."

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) called Bush's selection of Judge Alito a "wise choice."

"President Bush promised that he would nominate Justices in the mold of Justices Scalia and Thomas. In choosing Judge Alito for the high court, President Bush has done just that," said Jay Sekulow, ACLJ's chief counsel.

Sekulow called Alito a well-known conservative jurist with a lengthy track record of interpreting the Constitution and not legislating from the bench. He's extremely qualified, Sekulow added, and his nomination will "galvanize" conservatives.

Judge Alito, 55 years old, received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1972, his law degree from Yale Law School in 1975, and clerked for Judge Leonard Garth of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Alito also served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey; assistant to the U.S. solicitor general in the Justice Department; deputy assistant attorney general under U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese; and U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey until his appointment in 1990 to the federal appeals bench.