Samuel Alito

Sourced

• The First Amendment, I think, is the jewel of our Constitution.
  • Alito: Threat to Judicial Independence at Historic High, by Michael Scholl (2006-10-04)

• I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.
  • Application to become deputy assistant AG, 1985 http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051114-015136-2101r.htm

Unsourced

• I believe very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement, and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values.

About Samuel Alito

• You have obviously had a very distinguished record, and I certainly commend you for long service in the public interest. I think it is a very commendable career and I am sure you will have a successful one as a judge.
  • Sen. Ted Kennedy, speaking on Alito's nomination to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 1990-04-05

• I believe Mr. Alito has the experience and the skills to be the kind of judge the public deserves – one who is impartial, thoughtful, and fair. I urge the Senate to confirm his nomination.
  • Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), speaking on Alito's nomination to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Congressional Record, 1990-04-27, p. S5281

• The confirmation of Sam Alito as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey is testimony to the commitment he has shown and the success of his efforts as a law enforcement official. I am confident that he will continue to do all he can to uphold the laws of this nation with the kind of determination and vigor that has been his trademark in the past.
  • Former Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ), Congressional Record, 1987-12-08, p. S17427

• There was the abortion brief and also the brief in the Wygant case. I had a big hand in writing it, and so did Sam Alito, who had this marvelous phrase saying that a particular African American baseball player would not have served as a great role model if the fences had been pulled in every time he was up at bat, a point which some people were greatly offended by because they thought it to be pamphleteering. I thought it was entirely appropriate.
  • Charles Fried (Solicitor General 1985 to 1989) in 2003.

• Of course he's against abortion.
  • Rose Alito, Samuel Alito's 90-year-old mother in an Associated Press telephone interview from her Hamilton, N.J., home. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1102/p01s04-usju.html

• There's an outside chance that Roberts might assign [the opinion] to Alito, but, you know, [it's] Alito's second year on the Court; he should still do the tax and ERISA cases for a few more years. I think this case is too intersting for him.
  • Georgetown University law professor Richard Lazarus, in a panel discussion on Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, C-SPAN2, 2006-11-29 (at approx. 60:00)
  • The panel, held a few hours after oral argument, was asked which justice would write the controlling opinion when the case was decided.