A. Leon Higginbotham: "Alito Is My Kind of Conservative":
The Legal Intelligencer has a fascinating interview with self-described liberal and former Third Circuit Judge Timothy K. Lewis about Samuel Alito. The article is important not only because it reports Lewis's very positive views about Alito, but also because it recounts how the late liberal judge A. Leon Higginbotham was a big fan, too:
"To call him 'Scalito' is to completely misunderstand him," said attorney Timothy K. Lewis of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, a former 3rd Circuit judge who was Alito's colleague for seven years.Those familiar with the late Judge Higginbotham will recognize this praise as quite notable, even if it is hearsay. I think it's fair to say that Higginbotham was one of the most severe critics of conservative legal thought in his day; as I recall, his articles and books dismissed the entire project as essentially corrupt and racist. The fact that Higginbotham had such high praise for Alito is telling. (Hat tip: Howard)
Lewis, who describes himself as liberal, said Alito is solidly conservative and that the two sometimes disagreed, but that it was "always a deeply respectful disagreement."
"First and foremost," Lewis said, "Sam Alito is intellectually honest. This is what makes him a wonderful judge and also why I feel very good about his appointment to the Supreme Court."
Lewis recalled that when he joined the 3rd Circuit in 1992, he met with the court's former chief judge, A. Leon Higginbotham, to discuss the cast of characters who would soon become his colleagues.
When Alito's name came up, Lewis said, Higginbotham, who died in 1998, had only good things to say. "He said 'Sam Alito is my kind of conservative,'" Lewis said, and went on to describe Alito as "full of integrity" and "a pleasure to sit with."
Lewis said Higginbotham's description proved to be an accurate one, and that, despite their occasional disagreements, he found Alito to be a "careful" and "thoughtful" judge who is “reticent to the point of being shy.”
"Perhaps the best word to describe him is principled," Lewis said.
I think a charitable interpretation of the passage indicates that it's a little insulting to Judge Alito to view him simply as a copy of another judge. The "Scalito" thing is nothing but a slightly-offensive caricature.
(Now don't get me wrong; I'd love to see another Scalia on the Court. But Judge Alito is his own man, and rightfully so. Justice Scalia is wrong once in a blue moon.)
Do you think that's an appropriate way to treat the nomination process for the Federal judiciary? Like a brass-ring primary race, every time?
It's a free country, and far be it from me to try to dissuade Dems from such transparent behavior, but we won't be biting.
What are you talking about? You mean that Orin is a liberal trying to make Alito look too liberal? Wow, that's a great conspiracy theory.
On a serious note, it is worth mentioning that former Judge Lewis was appointed by Bush senior. I would be surprised to know that Bush senior appointed a liberal to the appeals court. Does anyone know if Lewis is really a liberal or at least a moderate judge? Because "self-described" does not tell much, former Senator Zell Miller is a "self-described" Democrat. I
Miguel
Maybe it is all an incredibly clever and complicated Democrat plot. But personally, I find it more than plausible that President Bush sought after and found a nominee who is thought of as a conservative and yet who is well-regarded by liberals.
I'm hoping Alito is a real conservative, not one who is "thought of" as a conservative. A real conservative is not going to be well regarded by liberals.
I have seen no indiciation at all of antigay views -- only a first amendment case in which he ruled in favor of some antigay christians against a harassment law. But having read the opinion, it's not antigay, and it doesn't make him more likely to oppose Romer or Lawrence anymore than Kennedy, who joined Boy Scouts but wrote the other too.
Thoughts?
Unless they were carrying guns.
Anyway, I don't know whether GAB was serious, but I expect this will be one of the left-wing talking points, like Roberts' alleged approval of arresting young girls for eating french fries.
Of course, Alito didn't "approve of strip-searching 10 year old girls." What he did was rule that police weren't unreasonable in thinking that the warrant they had permitted such a search.
I think that gets to an obvious issue: people have different ideas of what counts as "conservative", particularly when it comes to judges. So Alito could be Higginbotham's "kind of conservative", and/or the President's kind of conservative, but not yours.
gab,
Not even with a warrant? The issue in that case was whether the warrant did in fact cover that search, but I don't see anyone arguing that such a search with a valid warrant would be unconstitutional.
Telling, that, no?
Among other things it reflects the fact that overly heated, ideologically invested Left/Dems can be considerably different compared to more temperate, conciliating Dems; 1968/1972 are the rough dividing lines. And Miller is, and long has been, a registered Democrat - sectarian and ideologically determined litmus tests not withstanding.
Yes, there's no way Bush 41 would have done this. Ahem. Liberals were appointed directly to the Supremes.
Is that anything like true? What about uniters - people who are so respectable that the fact they have odious beliefs (perhaps for you: belief that a woman can terminate an unborn human inside her without the permission of parents or husband, or that a separation between church and state is required by the First Amendment; for me: the idea that affirmative action, contrary to original intent, should be subject to strict scrutiny, or that there is justification for suspending due process for drunk drivers or defendants on trial for murder, or that constitutional equality is not offended by treating gays worse than others)...
... don't prevent them from having admirers "across the aisle."
I won't answer the slur on Judge A. Leon H.; he was a better man than most, and his accomplishments speak for themselves better than I can.
Wouldn't the goal of a supporter of conservatism be to garner bipartisan support for real conservatives? Wouldn't you want your goals to be universally recognized as correct? What is it about hating the other side that makes it not-silly to hope that the other side won't understand what's admirable about someone on "your side"?
I suppose I could amuse myself by going on liberal blogs and saying the same thing, but what's the fun in that? My hobby is challenging conservatives; I have no beef with someone confronting liberals making this kind of error with my arguments.
People here need to remember that the vast majority of District Court judges are suggested by the congressional delegation from their state. Judge Lewis had a fantastic reputation as a skilled attorney and significant public servoce credentials. Bush I, not the ideological hack that his son is, recognized Lewis's impeccable credentials and put him on the federal bench.
It is possible for people of good will to recognize virtue in their political opposites. We used to call that "civil discourse" in politics (pre-1994 and the Gingrinch revolution).