Alito sworn in at Supreme Court
By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Samuel Alito was sworn in as a U.S.
Supreme Court justice on Tuesday after a divided Senate
confirmed the second conservative selected by President George
W. Bush in his effort to move the high court to the right.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Bush’s first Supreme Court
nominee, administered the constitutional and judicial oaths in
a private ceremony at the court, a spokeswoman said.
Just hours earlier, the sharply divided Senate confirmed
Alito, 55, a federal appeals judge since 1990, to the nation’s
highest court on a largely party line vote of 58-42.
Alito became the 110th member of the Supreme Court,
replacing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a moderate conservative
who retired. He is expected to align himself with the court’s
solidly conservative bloc and could affect the outcome of votes
on key social issues such as abortion and civil rights.
Bush said in a statement: “Sam Alito is a brilliant and
fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and
laws and does not legislate from the bench.
“He is a man of deep character and integrity, and he will
make all Americans proud as a justice on our highest court.”
Successful Supreme Court nominees have traditionally
received broad bipartisan support, but Alito ended up with one
of the lowest votes for confirmation in the past 100 years, and
the fewest since conservative Clarence Thomas was confirmed
52-48 in 1991 after accusations he sexually harassed a former
aide.
Four Democrats joined 54 Republicans in voting to confirm
Alito, while one Republican, one independent and 40 Democrats
opposed him.
In September, Roberts was confirmed 78-22.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the swearing in
of Alito occurred around 12:40 p.m. (1740 GMT), and that it was
attended by his wife, members of the court and their spouses.
Alito was expected to attend Bush’s State of the Union
address to Congress on Tuesday night with fellow justices.
A PIVOTAL SEAT
Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said, “I must
say that I wish the president was in a position to do more than
claim a partisan victory tonight.”
“The union would be better and stronger and more unified if
we were confirming a different nominee, a nominee who could
have united us more than divided us,” he said.
Senate Majority Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said a
seat on the Supreme Court “is reserved for few — but that
impacts millions.”
“In every respect, Judge Alito is a nominee who meets the
highest standards of excellence,” Frist said.
O’Connor’s seat has long been viewed as pivotal since for
years she has been the swing vote in a series of 5-4 decisions
on social issues. Roberts replaced a fellow conservative, the
late William Rehnquist, so he did not change the balance on the
court.
Alito and Roberts, 51, appear certain to help shape the
American way of life for years as key figures in the legacy of
the 43rd president. Bush won two terms as president vowing to
put staunch conservatives on the Supreme Court, the nation’s
final legal arbiter.
Roberts so far has voted with the court’s most conservative
members, Justices Antonin Scalia and Thomas, in rulings on
physician-assisted suicide and the death penalty.
Democratic critics voiced fear that Alito would embrace an
ideological agenda, but backers noted that he promised to
equally administer justice for all and received the American
Bar Association’s top rating.
Though he opposed abortion while serving in the Reagan
administration two decades ago, Alito promised at his
confirmation hearing to respect legal precedent, which includes
the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Still,
to the consternation of foes, he did not say how he would rule.