While I’m sure that Alito is a highly qualified jurist and an intelligent and decent man, I think that concerns about his attitudes toward individual rights, civil liberties and state power are justified. George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, no one’s idea of a liberal Democrat, thinks so too. Here’s what Turley has to say in a USA Today op-ed:
Despite my agreement with Alito on many issues, I believe that he would be a dangerous addition to the court in already dangerous times for our constitutional system. Alito’s cases reveal an almost reflexive vote in favor of government, a preference based not on some overriding principle but an overriding party.In my years as an academic and a litigator, I have rarely seen the equal of Alito’s bias in favor of the government. To put it bluntly, when it comes to reviewing government abuse, Samuel Alito is an empty robe.
Turley adds that Alito’s view on the subject have been “repeatedly rejected not only by his appellate colleagues but also by the U.S. Supreme Court.” Many of the appellate judge who have rebuked Alito for his reluctance to curb government powers are conservatives — including current Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, who in one opinion wrote that Alito would “transform the judicial officer into little more than the cliché ‘rubber stamp.’ “