Gearing Up for the Alito Nomination

As Washington returns from vacation, our Office of Governmental Affairs is in the midst of preparation for the Alito confirmation battle.  I will be leading up a team of our senior lawyers as well as our Governmental Affairs staff in supporting the nomination of this well-qualified nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.  Much is at stake with this nomination.  We should find out in the next several days if the Supreme Court is going to hear a challenge to an Eighth Circuit decision which declared the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional.  We anticipate that the Court will grant review.  The last time the case was before the Court, our side lost in a 5-4 vote with Justice OConnor being that swing vote.  Now, with the confirmation of Judge Alito, we would carry the case on a 5-4 basis.  This would be a significant shift in the battle for life and a significant Supreme Court victory.

Also, right before Christmas we obtained a victory at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in the Ten Commandments case.  The court, in fact, called the ACLUs argument over church-state separation tiresome.  It is likely that this case will also be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.  In the last two Ten Commandments cases that the Court decided this summer, Justice OConnor voted against both displays.  Obviously, if Judge Alito is confirmed, we will see a victory in the Ten Commandments cases.  Frank Manion, our Senior Counsel who has been handling the Ten Commandments litigation throughout the country, will be working along with Walter Weber to fight for victory in this case. 

I will keep you posted as new cases develop.  This promises to be a very busy time for us at the American Center for Law and Justice.