ACLU Disappointed With Committee Approval of Judge Samuel Alito, Calls on Full Senate To Reject Nominee to Protect Civil Rights and Liberties (1/24/2006)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed its
disappointment with the party-line approval of the nomination of Judge Samuel
A. Alito, Jr. to be the new associate justice on the Supreme Court, and urged
the full Senate to reject his confirmation.
The
following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU
Washington Legislative Office: "The American people deserve a nominee whose
loyalty lies with the Constitution and not the whims of the president. Judge
Alito's record has
shown an alarming and undue deference to executive powers. His legal and judicial
philosophy shows a jurist who is all too willing to acquiesce to the harmful,
and possibly illegal, demands of an executive branch set on extending its reach
and power.
"At a time when the president and his surrogates are claiming unprecedented
authority to break the rules, the nation's highest court must uphold our
fundamental civil liberties and freedoms, and recognize and sustain the balance
of powers essential to our government. Judge Alito would upset that balance, to
the detriment of our personal freedoms and privacy."
Read
the ACLU's statement for the record on Judge Alito
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