Day 4 of Alito Hearings & Ten Commandments Case Update
As the fourth day of hearings have commenced for Judge Sam Alito, all reports look very positive. Judge Alito has done a magnificent job responding to a barrage of questions raised by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Our Governmental Affairs team and I have been in Washington working on this nomination. I am quite optimistic that by January 20th, Judge Alito will be confirmed as the 108th Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The process for confirmation has grown uglier by the minute. Some on the Senate Judiciary Committee have attacked Judge Alitos judicial philosophy; however, most of the attacks have been personal in nature. Judge Alitos judicial philosophy is within the mainstream of jurists from around the country. The personal attacks are unfortunate and really have no place in the process for judicial confirmation. I will keep everyone updated as the issues continue to develop on the Alito nomination.
On December 20, 2005, we received a resounding victory from the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Sixth Circuit concerning a Ten Commandments case in Mercer County, Kentucky. The court called the ACLUs arguments tiresome and unanimously ruled in our favor, allowing the display to stand. Just this week, the ACLU has filed a petition for rehearing en banc, which means they have asked the entire Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case. We are prepared to respond to this petition if the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals asks for a response. I suspect that if the Sixth Circuit denies the rehearing en banc, then the ACLU will be taking this case to the Supreme Court of the United States. I believe that if this case were to be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States, our legal position would carry the day.