Samuel Alito was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday morning and sworn in as the United States’ 110th Supreme Court justice, marking the second judicial confirmation to the nation’s highest court in five months.
In one of the most partisan Republican victories for a Supreme Court justice, all but one of the 55 Republican senators voted to confirm him hours before President Bush made his State of the Union address. All but four of the 44 Democratic senators voted against him.
It was the smallest number of senators in the president’s opposing party to support a Supreme Court justice in modern history, with Chief Justice John Roberts receiving 22 Democratic votes last year, and Justice Clarence Thomas receiving 11 Democratic votes in 1991.
Replacing Sandra Day O’Connor, who provided a moderate swing vote for a court that presided over the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade, Alito will likely bring a more conservative view.
Alito was questioned during his confirmation hearings on a variety of issues, including the 1973 court case Roe v. Wade, which established a woman’s right to an abortion.
Abortion rights groups are concerned that Alito’s confirmation to the court may push the Supreme Court to the right and change laws about abortion.
Political science Professor Thomas Schwartz said though Alito has indicated a conservative ideology, he has shown the ability to come to a debate without a prejudged notion. Alito said during his confirmation hearings he would approach an abortion case “with an open mind.”
“His direction has been ... fairly conservative, but he is also a firm believer in Article III of the Constitution, which states that federal judges cannot issue advisory opinion until a case is presented to them and the argument is heard on both sides. He goes to the court open-minded, which makes him a good judge,” Schwartz said.
Law Professor Gary Rowe said Alito’s conservatism could show when the court rules on issues regarding executive power.
“I worry he’s overly deferential to government power. He could limit congressional power too much and favor executive rights against those who will challenge presidential power,” he said.
Rowe attributes his beliefs to Alito’s past rulings in cases such as United States v. Ryber, when he ruled against Congress’s power to regulate machine-gun distribution, and therefore, interstate commerce.
“I think in this case, Alito went a bit too far. It seems to me that Congress should have complete authority to regulate interstate commerce, as previous courts since the 19th century have held,” Rowe said.
Taking both the constitutional and judicial oaths only hours after the Senate confirmed him, Alito is expected to participate in court decisions immediately.
He will be sworn in for a second time in the White House East Room today.
The 55-year-old New Jersey jurist previously served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1990 to 2006. During the Reagan administration, Alito served as assistant solicitor general and deputy attorney general.
As the son of an Italian immigrant father who worked for the New Jersey Legislature and a mother who was a school principal, he received an undergraduate degree at Princeton and was a student at Yale Law School.
The vote was confirmed as 25 senators failed in a last-minute attempt to filibuster the nomination Monday, including Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, D-Mass.
“The Senate opponents were not able to muster very many votes to stay a filibuster but no one ever thought it could occur. It’s extraordinarily unusual to filibuster a nominee. The only time it happened was in the late ’60s,” Schwartz said.
With Alito confirmed on the same day as President Bush’s State of the Union address, Rowe said Bush’s approval ratings will still stay the same.
“When the nominee seems like an intellectual and thoughtful person, it is difficult to get public attention. This is why I believe the Democrats failed to successfully challenge Alito, because they couldn’t generate sufficient interest,” Rowe said.
After the end of a year that included the death of former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and the retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor, a new year begins with recently appointed Chief Justice John Roberts and the newly confirmed Alito on the bench.
Alito said he vows to rule by the literal reading of the Constitution.
“There is nothing that is more important for our republic than the rule of law. No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law, and no person in this country is beneath the law,” Alito said in his opening statement to the Senate earlier this year.
With reports from Bruin wire services.