More on Alito

Two stories report Alito views on rights of the accused. Not terribly surprising, given the position of his party on these issues over the past couple decades.


From the Washington Post

'86 Alito Memo Argues Against Foreigners' Rights
Work for Justice Dept. Points to Views That May Affect Anti-Terrorism Rulings on High Court

By Jo Becker and Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Page A04

As a senior lawyer in the Reagan Justice Department, Samuel A. Alito Jr. argued that immigrants who enter the United States illegally and foreigners living outside their countries are not entitled to the constitutional rights afforded to Americans.

In an opinion that offers insight into the Supreme Court nominee's view of an area of law that has gained new significance with the Bush administration's policies to combat terrorism, Alito gave his approval to an FBI effort in the 1980s to collect from Canadian authorities fingerprint cards of Iranian and Afghan refugees living in that country.

From the New York Times

Alito Memos Supported Expanding Police Powers

by DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: November 29, 2005

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 - As a lawyer in the Reagan Justice Department, Samuel A. Alito Jr., the Supreme Court nominee, played an active role in advancing the administration's efforts to expand law enforcement powers and limit restrictions on prosecutors, documents released Monday by the Justice Department show.

The 470 pages of documents, which consist mainly of memorandums Mr. Alito wrote as a deputy assistant attorney general in the office of legal counsel in 1986 and 1987, generally address routine matters or highly technical legal issues. In several of the memorandums, however, Mr. Alito makes a series of arguments espousing a broad view of law enforcement authority and a skeptical view of proposals to protect individuals from legal investigations.

The Times article appropriately cautions us about the Role Alito was playing then, which is not the same as the position for which he has been nominated:

Mr. Alito, who is now a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, wrote the memorandums as a lawyer enacting the policies of the administration, not necessarily expressing his personal legal opinions.