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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Samuel Alito

Samuel Alito stories: 20 news summaries

Roberts Court Disappoints O'Connor

Moderate justice sees legacy 'dismantled'
by conservative turn

Oct 5, 09 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sandra Day O’Connor is none too pleased with the conservative turn the Supreme Court has taken since she retired. Asked at a conference how she felt about the court overturning or undermining rulings she’d helped make on issues like abortion rights, campaign finance and race, she replied, “... More »

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Samuel Alito • Sandra Day O'Connor • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

Justices Prepare for Newest 'Family Member'

In rare interviews, they discuss dynamics of Supreme Court shifts

Sep 4, 09 7:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - When Sonia Sotomayor takes the bench for the first time next week, the Supreme Court will never be the same—as justice after justice tells C-Span in a rare interview program, each new member transforms the court's composition. John Roberts says that he looks at the bench "like people... More »

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Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Sandra Day O'Connor • Clarence Thomas • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

(Newser) - Senate Republicans locked arms against Sonia Sotomayor yesterday … or would have, if they’d bothered to stay for the Judiciary Committee’s vote. Instead, half ducked out, leaving Jeff Sessions to repeat “No by proxy,” over and over, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. It was... More »

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Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • partisanship • Orrin Hatch • Charles Grassley • Senate confirmation hearings • Lindsey Graham • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Dana Milbank • Sonia Sotomayor

OPINION

 Attacking 
 Nominees 
 Demeans Court 


May 27, 09 3:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - The political attack ads popular in general elections have a profoundly negative effect on the public’s view of the Supreme Court when used during the nomination process, James L. Gibson writes fror Miller-McCune.com. “Politicized confirmation processes can indeed damage the institution of the US Supreme Court itself,... More »

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Samuel Alito • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • attack ad • judicial nominations • presidential appointment • Sonia Sotomayor

OPINION

GOP Must Get Revenge in High Court Hearings

Democrats changed the rules by opposing Roberts, Alito

May 20, 09 8:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - When Democrats waged an ideological war on the Supreme Court nominations of conservatives John Roberts and Samuel Alito, they set a dangerous precedent that should boomerang on whoever President Obama selects, says the Bush official in charge of those confirmations. Previously, the Senate graciously ushered through anyone with sufficient intellect,... More »

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Barack Obama • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Stephen Breyer • Ed Gillespie • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court

analysis

Clarence Thomas
Strays From Righty Line

Slams Bush team, backs consumer protection in recent case

Mar 9, 09 9:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Clarence Thomas might be the Supreme Court’s rightmost justice, but he’s “never been shy about breaking with conventional wisdom,” writes David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times. In the latest such instance, he upheld injured patients’ right to sue drug companies, arguing that “agency... More »

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Antonin Scalia • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • medical marijuana • conservative • Clarence Thomas • US Supreme Court • liberal • justices • decision • Bill Maher Grid

Supreme Court Rules Against Utah Sect

Monument won't fly; public statues are 'government speech'

Feb 25, 09 2:12 PM CST
(Newser) - The Supreme Court today denied a Utah sect the right to erect a monument in a public park, settling a case that had serious implications for free speech and freedom of religion, the New York Times reports. Members of the Summum religion are free to espouse their beliefs in the... More »

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Samuel Alito • free speech • First Amendment • Utah • monument • religious freedom • US Supreme Court • justices

ANALYSIS

Order in Court Will Be Task for Next President

With liberal bloc aging, McCain could boost conservative leaning

Jun 27, 08 3:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Recent Supreme Court decisions that broke 5-4 underlined the impact the next president could have on top US judicial body, the Boston Globe notes. The liberal bloc—including John Paul Stevens (age 88) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (75)—is more likely to lose members during the next administration, so a... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • John Paul Stevens • US Supreme Court

analysis

 O'Connor's Imprint Fades 

First female Supreme Court justice's legacy uncertain

Jun 10, 08 4:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Even as Sandra Day O’Connor public profile as an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease research grows, the legal imprint of the first woman Supreme Court justice is fading, USA Today reports. Since her departure, the Roberts court has shifted course on abortion and retreated from positions supported by her... More »

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Samuel Alito • abortion • John Roberts • law • Sandra Day O'Connor • integration • Samuel A. Alito • US Supreme Court • justices

 Court Readies
 Term's Testiest Decisions 

Justices will hand down 26 of the most contentious opinions beginning today

Jun 9, 08 8:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court is poised to begin unveiling decisions today in some of the year's most heated cases, reports USA Today. As the term winds down, the 26 final opinions will be released on select days in June, and include clashes over Guantanamo detainees, DC's handgun ban, and the 1989... More »

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Antonin Scalia • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Anthony Kennedy • Stephen Breyer • John Paul Stevens • Clarence Thomas • US Supreme Court • opinion • David Souter

McCain Vows
to Pick More Conservative Judges

Lashes out at judicial activists, Obama

May 6, 08 5:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain reached out to conservatives today, saying he would follow George Bush's lead in appointing judges, CNN reports. McCain drew sharp contrasts between his legal philosophy and that of both Democratic hopefuls before an audience in North Carolina. He specifically criticized Obama for voting against the confirmation of John... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • Samuel Alito • Samuel A. Alito • federal judges • McCain 2008 • conservative credentials • judicial nominations • strict constructionism

Supreme Court Overturns La. Death Sentence

Blacks wrongly blocked from jury in case compared to OJ

Mar 20, 08 5:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a former Marine awaiting execution on Louisiana's death row. Allen Snyder, an African-American, was convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and her boyfriend, but the court ruled 7-2 that prosecutors acted improperly by using its challenges to seat an all-white... More »

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Antonin Scalia • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Louisiana • capital punishment • Clarence Thomas • US Supreme Court • jury selection • Allen Snyder • Snyder v. Louisiana

Justices' Stock Portfolios Cripple Cases

Supreme Court left deadlocked by recusals amid calls to divest

Mar 7, 08 7:35 PM CST
(Newser) - The stock portfolios of Supreme Court justices have become a flash point this term, in which six cases could be affected by justices recusing themselves because they own financial stakes in companies involved. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Stephen Bryer have bowed out of cases involving... More »

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Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Anthony Kennedy • ExxonMobil • Pfizer • Stephen Breyer • Cisco • conflicts of interest • US Supreme Court

Alito Whacks Sopranos' Themes

Italian-Americans' real story overshadowed, complains justice

Feb 14, 08 11:19 AM CST
(Newser) - US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito isn't going to fuhgeddabout all the negative stereotypes concerning Italian-Americans spread by shows like The Sopranos. "You have a trifecta—gangsters, Italian-Americans, New Jersey—wedded in the popular American imagination" and overshadowing the true stories, the New Jersey native complained yesterday to... More »

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Samuel Alito • New Jersey • The Sopranos • stereotypes • Mafia • Rutgers University • US Supreme Court • Italian Americans

Supreme Court Returns for a
Big Session

Right-moving bench will rule on lethal injection, Gitmo prisoner rights

Sep 30, 07 4:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court enters its second session with Bush appointees John Roberts and Samuel Alito tomorrow, which means it will likely resume last session’s rightward slant, Reuters says. Before the court will be big cases on Guantanamo inmates’ right to habeas corpus, the legality of the lethal injection death... More »

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Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Anthony Kennedy • ACLU • lethal injection • habeas corpus • Guantanamo prisoners • cruel and unusual punishment • US Supreme Court

The Right’s Beef With Mukasey? The Left Doesn’t Hate Him

Slate says GOP is perversely partisan

Sep 18, 07 7:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - The GOP is uneasy with Bush’s choice for attorney general, but only because liberals don't despise him, says Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick. Unlike Roberts and Alito, Michael Mukasey doesn’t know “all 17 twists in the Federalist Society's secret handshake”—leaving open the chance that he might... More »

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Bush administration • War on Terror • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Patriot Act • Michael Mukasey • Joe Padilla • Federalist Society

Supremes Let Up on Political Ad Limits

in 5-4 reversal, court rules 'issue ads' don't count as endorsements

Jun 25, 07 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Conservatives on the Supreme Court weakened one of the major strictures of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law today, relaxing the definition of prohibited ads in the run-up to federal elections. An increasingly familiar 5-4 majority declared that "issue ads," which stump for political platforms without explicitly endorsing a... More »

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Samuel Alito • John Roberts • campaign finance • First Amendment • McCain Feingold • issue ad • protected speech • US Supreme Court

High Court
Eyes McCain-
Feingold 

Alito, Roberts may reverse ban on "issue ads" during campaign

Apr 26, 07 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court looks poised to pull an about face on the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law by striking down its strictures on "issue ads"—pre-election commentary that mentions candidates by name. Sandra Day O'Connor joined a majority in upholding the ban in 2003; Alito and Roberts may provide... More »

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Antonin Scalia • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • McCain Feingold • Campaign Finance Reform • political action committees • US Supreme Court

Alito Swings Court Against Late Abortion

Justices cite moral corcerns, worry about mother's regrets

Apr 19, 07 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court's decision to uphold a ban partial-birth abortions is a gauntlet thrown down by the Roberts court, reports Linda Greenhouse in the Times. Samuel Alito, the newest justice, was the deciding factor in the 5-4 turnaround. While it will affect a small subset of abortion procedures, the focus... More »

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Samuel Alito • abortion • John Roberts • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Anthony Kennedy • US Supreme Court

Bong Case
4 SCOTUS

A Supreme Court case weighs student's right to "glorify" drug use

Mar 20, 07 10:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - A student glorifying illegal drug use shouldn't be protected by the First Amendment, Ken Starr argued before the Supreme Court yesterday in the case of a high school student suspended for displaying a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during the Winter Olympics Torch Relay in Juneau, Alaska... More »

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Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Kenneth Starr • Alaska • bongs • drugs • First Amendment • drug use • Juneau • Olympic Games • US Supreme Court

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