For Immediate Release
January 31, 2006
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=U36sYZAGMMGPWd2bTQQucQ..
AMERICANS UNITED DEPLORES SENATE CONFIRMATION OF ALITO TO HIGH COURT
Group Says Alito Now Has Opportunity To Attack Protections For Religious
Liberty
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today blasted the
Senate's confirmation of Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the nation's top court.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said he
"deeply regrets the action senators have taken today.
"We firmly believe," Lynn continued, "that Sam Alito meant what he said in
1985 about his staunch belief that the Warren Court got it wrong on
church-state matters and that the Constitution does not provide protection
for reproductive rights.
"Sadly the Senate has now given Alito the opportunity to attack
longstanding federal court precedent protecting individual freedom," Lynn
said.
The Senate voted this morning 58-42 to confirm Alito. Alito's ascendancy to
the nation's Supreme Court could not be impeded despite the array of public
interest groups that had urged the Senate to defeat the nomination.
Lynn, however, commended the 42 senators who voted against Alito's
confirmation.
"History will prove that these principled lawmakers were the ones who stood
to defend the rights of the people," Lynn said.
In December, Americans United issued a report detailing Alito's work on the
federal appeals court and in the Reagan administration, where he
highlighted his conservative credentials in a 1985 job application for a
promotion.
Alito revealed that during law school he became especially interested in
constitutional law because of his "disagreement with the Warren Court
decisions" dealing with church-state separation, criminal procedure and
reapportionment. Also in that 1985 application, Alito bragged about working
within the administration to oppose Roe v. Wade.
Americans United had also sent several letters to senators calling on them
to derail Alito's nomination. In its Jan. 10 letter to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, Americans United noted that Alito did not have the judicial
temperament to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who had proved
pivotal in protecting fundamental First Amendment principles.
AU's letter argued that throughout her career, O'Connor had "been keenly
attuned to the plight of religious minorities in society as a whole, and
most especially in the public schools." Alito, however, during his 15-year
tenure on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals consistently sided with the
concerns of the religious majority.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
.
|
