Posted on 09/01/2006 7:11:29 PM PDT by Coleus
Samuel A. Alito Jr. vividly remembers the first few hours of his new job. The Senate had just approved his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court and he had been whisked into the high court for his swearing-in. There was lunch with his new colleagues, then he was shown around his new chambers, formerly occupied by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
He was exhausted after a partisan three-month battle over his confirmation, but the weight of it all was just beginning to lift. He was thinking vacation. Then a law clerk came looking for him. Michael Taylor, a Missouri man convicted of killing a 15-year-old girl, was scheduled to die at midnight the next day, the clerk said. Alito had to be ready to cast a vote on a stay of execution. And the bench was expected to divide sharply. So the new justice went straight to work reading memos and briefs in the case.
"It was not really what I wanted to do on my first half-day," said Alito. "At the beginning I was sort of numb for the whole process. It was like being in a car, like shifting gears. ... The months before were unlike anything I had ever experienced. I wasn't really a judge for most of that time. So I had to say, 'Okay, now you're a judge again. Shift back into that gear.' So that's what I did and just tried to grapple with it as best as I could."
The next day, Feb. 1, Alito split from his fellow conservatives in a 6-3 vote that stopped the execution. With the court in summer recess, Sam Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann, agreed earlier this month to their first interviews since he was confirmed.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Alito seems like a very decent chap. He will probably disappoint us a few times, but it's looking like he will disappoint the libs FAR more often.
Praise God.
I really wanted a judge who would interpret the law rather than promote an agenda (mine or otherwise). I believe I got my wish.
Thank God and Bush for this man.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.