Alito is All That

Long ago & far away, before I became a corporate, healthcare attorney, I wanted to be a lawyer so that I could help people. Ahh, for those days of innocence, when I really believed that a lawyer could be a social worker with authority and could change things for the better. My professional life has strayed far from those days, but I still believe that we are a community of humankind, and so still need to help each other. Still a bit naive, I suppose. But that's OK. I prefer that to the alternative.

I began my legal career as a law clerk for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and spent a number of years at a large firm as a corporate litigator (which is the euphemism for trial attorney at a big firm who doesn't get into court very much). Over the years, I have watched the Supreme Court shift to the right. I remember when I thought that Justice Rehnquist was the epitome of conservative, right wingism. I thought that he was particularly dangerous because he was extremely intelligent and crafty. He moved the Court slowly, but surely, rightward. It's amazing that by the time that he died, he wasn't considered so conservative any more. The Court (and the country) has moved so far to the right, that he was close to moderate by today's standards.

With Justices like Thomas, Scalia and now possibly Alito, sitting on that "honorable" court, it makes me very sad. My hero was William O. Douglas and I admired Brennan and Marshall. Law and justice was supposed to be the refuge for the individual against the big powers that be.

Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer has an article, Alito opinions reveal pattern of conservatism, analyzing the opinions of Judge Alito from his 3rd Circuit days. Not a pretty picture. As the article states:

During his 15 years on the federal bench, Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. has worked quietly but resolutely to weave a conservative legal agenda into the fabric of the nation's laws.

A Knight Ridder review of Alito's 311 published judicial opinions - each of singular legal or public-policy importance - found a clear pattern. Although Alito's opinions are rarely written with obvious ideology, he has seldom sided with a criminal defendant, a foreigner facing deportation, an employee alleging discrimination, or consumers suing big businesses.

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Tim Lewis, a former 3rd Circuit Judge and law school classmate of mine, is quoted in the article, saying that he believes that Judge Alito's judicial philosophy is acceptable, but as the Inquirer noted, "a Knight Ridder review of Alito's record revealed decisions so consistent that it appears results do matter to him."

Based upon my readings of his opinions and views, it sounds like Judge Alito never saw a prosecutor or employer that he didn't like. Big business, the Christian right and the government are happy as clams that he's around. On the other hand, those less fortunate, criminal defendants, employees subjected to workplace discrimination, immigrants -- forget about it.

I realize that much of the focus has been on Roe vs. Wade, which for any woman is an extremely important right. However, I think that Alito can so erode rights in many legal areas even beyond the pro Choice arena that I despair for us and our humanity.