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Alito and Discrimination

By TChris, Section Sam Alito
Posted on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 10:28:43 AM EST
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by TChris

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law worries (with good reason) that Judge Alito, if confirmed, would further erode the Supreme Court's willingness to interpret civil rights laws as Congress intended: to benefit victims of discrimination.

During his 15 years on the bench and participation in thousands of cases, Judge Alito has never written an employment discrimination opinion in favor of an African American on the merits of their race claim. Judge Alito attempted to downplay this point by referencing five cases where he was supposedly supportive of race-based claims. However, our research revealed that these five cases do not support the argument made by Judge Alito and his supporters.

The full text of the Lawyers' Committee's Senate testimony is here (pdf).

They urge Senators who value the protection of civil rights, and effective measures for the full participation of people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, to vote against cloture and to vote in opposition to the nomination of Judge Alito.

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    Alito and Discrimination | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: Alito and Discrimination (none / 0) (#1)
    by roy on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 10:56:39 AM EST
    Does anybody know where I could find a listing of the employment cases they mention? I'd like to get a sense for whether Alito's decisions were legally correct. That is the point for judges, right? Love, Roy

    Re: Alito and Discrimination (none / 0) (#2)
    by TChris on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 11:25:23 AM EST
    Many of Judge Alito's dissents in employment and labor law cases, including discrimination cases, are discussed in this post at nathannewman.org. Most of the cases discussed are linked to the decisions.

    Re: Alito and Discrimination (none / 0) (#3)
    by roy on Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 02:06:36 PM EST
    Thanks for the link. After skimming a handful, yeah, Alito work pretty hard to rule against the little guy. If somebody wants to slash employment law to ribbons, that's cool with me, but playing make believe with the law isn't the right way to do it.

    Re: Alito and Discrimination (none / 0) (#4)
    by Johnny on Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 05:47:43 AM EST
    If somebody wants to slash employment law to ribbons
    Are you serious?

    Alito and Discrimination | 4 comments (4 topical)