Thinking Citizen Blog — US Supreme Court VI — Samuel Alito
By: John Muresianu
Tags: United States, Supreme Court, Justice, Thinking Citizen Blog

Thinking Citizen Blog — Saturday is Justice, Freedom, Law, and Values Day

Today’s Topic — US Supreme Court VI — Samuel Alito — “practical originalist,” Roman Catholic, Italian-American

Associate Justice Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2005 and confirmed by the Senate in a 52 to 48 vote with 4 Democrats voting to confirm and 1 Republican opposed. He would be the fifth Catholic on the Court. He would also be the second Italian-American (after Antonin Scalia). His majority opinions in landmark cases were in support of gun rights (McDonald v City of Chicago, 2010), religious liberty (Burwell v Hobby Lobby stores, 2014), states rights (Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2018), and the rights of non-union workers to be exempt from union fees (Janus v AFSCME, 2018). Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.

BACKGROUND

1. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Alito was the son of an Italian immigrant, valedictorian of his public high school class, and a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton in 1972. He got his law degree from Yale in 1972.

2. As an assistant Solicitor General from 1981–5, Alito argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court and lost only 2. A remarkable record.

3. He served on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1990 to 2006.

STATES RIGHTS: Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic Association (2018)

1. In a 7 to 2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal law banning sports betting nationwide was a violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Alito wrote the majority opinion, arguing that the Federal government had “commandeered” the states and the Supremacy Clause did not apply.

2. This decision could have implications for such issues as gun ownership, immigration enforcement, and marijuana laws.

3. The Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

RIGHTS OF NON-UNION WORKERS: Janus v AFSCME (2018)

1. In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that in the public sector the charging of union fees to non-union members was a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.

2. This decision overturned the 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.

3. Alito was joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, and Gorsuch. Dissenters: Kagan, Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor,

ABORTION RIGHTS AND SPOUSAL NOTIFICATION, GUN RIGHTS AND THE COMMERCE CLAUSE

1. Abortion: while on the Third Circuit argued in favor of a spousal notification requirement in abortion cases. (Planned Parenthood v Casey, 1991)

2. Gun rights: in his dissent in US v Rybar (1996) argued that a law banning private citizens from owning submachine guns was similar to one struck down by the Supreme Court in US v Lopez and thus outside the authority of Congress under the Commerce Clause.

COVID AND CIVIL LIBERTIES — November 2020 speech to the Federalist Society

1. “We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020,”

2. “He was particularly aggrieved that the governor in Nevada limited church attendance while allowing casinos to reopen at 50 percent capacity and called for visitors to return to the state. The 51st person in line for a church service was out of luck, Alito said: “Forget about worship, and head for the slot machine or maybe a Cirque du Soleil show.”

3. “And while he said he wasn’t being critical, he said the restrictions on public gatherings and worship services highlighted “trends that were already present before the virus struck,” which he identified as a “dominance of lawmaking by executive fiat” rather than by legislators.”

Samuel Alito

McDonald v. City of Chicago

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

Janus v. AFSCME

Before Supreme Court, Alito Had Winning Record (Published 2005)

Justice Alito says pandemic has resulted in ‘unimaginable’ restrictions on individual liberty

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YOUR TURN

Please share the coolest thing you learned in the last week related to justice, freedom, the law or basic values. Or the coolest, most important thing you learned in your life related to justice, freedom, the law, or basic values. Or just some random justice-related fact that blew you away.

This is your chance to make some one’s day. Or to cement in your mind something that you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply about something dear to your heart.