Biden: Chance of filibuster on Alito stronger

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chance of a filibuster to halt
the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito rose on news
he once opposed 1960s Supreme Court rulings on reapportionment
based on the principle of equal voting rights, a top Democrat
on the Senate judiciary panel said on Sunday.

Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat from Delaware, told Fox News
Sunday that a decision by Democrats to filibuster would depend
largely on Alito’s answers during judiciary committee
questioning scheduled for January.

In a 1985 application to be a deputy assistant attorney
general disclosed last week, Alito wrote that he disagreed with
reapportionment decisions by the Supreme Court under Chief
Justice Earl Warren in the early 1960s.

Prior to the Warren court’s decisions, some state
legislators were elected on a geographical basis, giving thinly
populated rural areas more political heft than urban centers.

“If he really believes that reapportionment is a
questionable decision — that is, the idea of Baker vs. Carr,
one man, one vote — then clearly, clearly, you’ll find a lot
of people, including me, willing to do whatever they can to
keep him off the court. We don’t know that. We have to hear
it,” Biden said. “That would include a filibuster if need be.”

Asked if this increased the chances of a filibuster, Biden
said: “Well, I think based upon that job application where he
said he strongly held these views, yes.”