Senate vote on high court nominee Alito near
- Jan 13, 2006 -
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito Jan. 24, with floor debate expected to begin shortly thereafter, and ERLC President Richard Land is anxious to see the current Third Circuit Court of Appeals judge Alito seated on the nation’s highest bench.
“As promised by the president in nominating Judge Alito for the Supreme Court seat, the judge appears by all accounts to be a strict constructionist, original intent jurist of the first rank,” said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. It appears Alito will gain a majority on the committee in a party-line vote. The panel’s 10 Republicans are expected to vote for Alito, while the eight Democrats are likely to oppose him.
In the full Senate, Alito appears to have a majority, but it is uncertain if Democrats will attempt to prevent a confirmation vote by a filibuster. Supporters of Alito would need 60 votes to invoke cloture and halt a filibuster. Five Democrats would need to join the Republicans, if all 55 GOP members support Alito, to end the filibuster. So far, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is the only Democrat to commit to vote for confirmation.
“Judge Alito’s 30-year track record shows his thorough understanding of the U.S. Constitution and firm commitment to its faithful interpretation and application,” Land said, noting Alito has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in over 70 years.
Yet Land noted even a well-qualified rating by the American Bar Association—the same rating given to recent nominee and now Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.—won’t mollify many of Alito’s critics.
“Even this highest possible ABA rating is not enough to satisfy the opposition, many of whom have a hidden agenda to strip our nation of its religious liberties, eliminate all rights of the unborn, and expand the definition of marriage, among other things,” Land continued, urging citizens to convey their support of Judge Alito to their U.S. Senators.
The Democrats delayed the Judiciary Committee’s vote by a week after putting Alito through a lengthy grilling in hearings Jan. 8-13. Democrat panel members challenged Alito on a number of fronts, but it seemed clear the focus of their concern was his view of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and the unlimited right to abortion it legitimized.
Under questioning, Alito refused to describe Roe unequivocally as the “settled law of the land.” He said it is “a precedent that is entitled to respect as stare decisis,” but he also said he did not want “to leave the impression that stare decisis is an inexorable command, because the Supreme Court has said that it is not.”
Stare decisis is the legal doctrine that says a court should not overturn its own decision unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
Alito acknowledged he advocated a pro-life position as a Justice Department lawyer in the 1980s but said he would consider abortion cases with an “open mind.”
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