Unexpected, Alito votes with liberals

[thatsrightimirish]

Sam Alito cast his first vote today blocking the execution of a Missouri prisoner.
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/US/Supreme_Court/
Strange indeed. It would be really funny if he was another David Souter. Here's hoping! Is there another story to this or something?

[Mass]

1. Because of 1 case?

[wisteria]

21. I'm cynical about this one too. No details as to why he decided this

way. Maybe he wants more time to review it or needs additional information.

[sellitman]

2. Bizarre! n/t

[r0tt3n1]

3. `unexpected`?

Maybe, maybe not. I am a total pessimist about this. I can hear the talking point now: "Look! Hes not such a right-wing nutjob afterall!"
duhversion?!?

[Mistwell]

10. He has the seat for life

I feel confident he isn't voting to provide talking points to anyone. There is legit suspicion, and then there is outright paranoia. I think you have crossed over to the later on this one.

[DainBramaged]

4. Conservorat beard, Republicant, woman hater.

[Bobbieo]

15. Alito and the Liberals

One thing I leaned in J-school many,many years ago that once a man (or woman) becomes a Supreme Court Justice he becomes his own man and can tell the world and the president to kiss his ass if he feels like it.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

32. Normally, yes.

But Alito was given this job for the express purpose of making the Supreme Court kiss the President's ass. As long as said President is a Republican, anyway...

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

5. Hope fundy heads are exploding as I type.

I know it's just one case, but you know the Rapturist Right zealots want them criminals fried ASAP.

[samhsarah]

6. Well 1 case is WAY too early to tell, but I can say that this is one time

in my life when I would absolutely LOVE to be proven wrong.

[Fla Dem]

7. I'm sure from an ethical standpoint, having little time to study the

case, he probably felt he could not agree to executing someone w/o at least understanding the issues. At least that's how I would spin it.

[Erika]

8. A Pro life vote?

Maybe he's not for capital punishment. You know what that could mean.

[Hippo_Tron]

11. At least he would be consistant

I have more respect for a pro-lifer than a pro-birther.

[Erika]

18. As a woman, Roe v Wade will be in the back of my mind

Women have lives also.

[Hippo_Tron]

24. Understandable, which is why I'm pro-choice

[Blue_In_AK]

33. That was my first thought...

This is a pro-life vote.

[Hippo_Tron]

9. Good for him

I'm not making any judgements about him after one vote, but perhaps this means that he has a reasonable view on making sure that innocent people are not executed. At least a more reasonable view on it than Scalia.

[bush_is_wacko]

12. Needed to make a good showing perhaps? n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

22. Why? For whom?

[bush_is_wacko]

29. All the meanies that made his wife cry and questioned his integrity.

Sort of an in-your-face? I know Supreme Court Justices don't usually engage in this sort of behavior but just maybe this one needs to keep himself looking good until the warrantless wiretapping case comes across his desk.

Admittedly a stretch but who knows under this regime. he was the Republican choice after they persecuted Harriet Myers!

[thatsrightimirish]

13. I know its only 1 case

And i still believe senators who voted against Alito did the right thing. However, this is probably making people like Pat Buchanan very angry, so, at least for now, I'm happy.

[LittleClarkie]

14. Eh, I do believe in his history he had done that once in a blue moon

Don't get yer hopes up.

[Skip Intro]

16. seeeee? he's not so bad.

glad that's settled.

[saltpoint]

17. I'd like to see the death penalty shut down once and for all.

It's inhumane, and an ethical nation -- even when it is being administered by fools and monsters -- should not be permitted to execute human beings without challenge.

If Alito is against the death penalty, that would be a singularly praiseworthy thing.

I reserve the right to hate his damn guts if he overturns Roe v. Wade, though.

[wisteria]

19. None of the articles mentions why, He may just want additional

information or something. I don't buy this. They are making a big deal out of it and not mentioning why. Usually when they report things like this they give the justices opinions with the report. I haven't found one with details. This is just a stick it to the Dems story and a nothing to see here lets move on.

[Kber]

41. They SC didn't really say why

It was a two sentence decision letting the lower court ruling stand. Not really the media's fault for not providing details (this time).

I agree with you - they have agreed to hear an almost identical case in June and they are simply telling folks to hold their horses until then.

The only possible indication about Alito is that it's at least a rational decision to wait until they have a chance to hear more about this situation before they take the irrecoverable step of taking a man's life. No indication what so ever on how he will vote on this issue in the end.

(And maybe that he feels that the Fed gov't has the right to stay a state's decision to execute. No real surprise that he believes in the power of the federal government to intervene in local decisions in a broad way.)

[msgadget]

20. Interesting... n/t

[springsteen4senate]

23. this is Rove...

trying to make Kennedy look bad. it was a "free vote" for alito

[LiberalInGeorgia2005]

25. Yeah right!

This guy has upheld the death penalty many times and wouldn't say that executing known innocent people is unconstitutional. Something stinks. He probably had some small reason for this.

Wait for the next 5-4 ruling.

[Jackpine Radical]

26. I don't see an ulterior motive here.

Once on the bench he has nothing to prove to anybody. Even if he did, you would think it would take the form of a "thank you" to the wingnuts who pushed him into his job. Why would he spit in their faces right out of the starting gate unless he were merely voting the way he thinks is right?

A very very small sliver of very guarded optimism here.

[Karmakaze]

27. Nobody seems to have noticed that...

the ruling did NOT block an execution. The case he was ruling on was to overturn a STAY of execution of a few days. In other words the state wanted to speed up the execution. Alito didnt vote to stop the execution he just voted against speeding it up - presumably to give the lower courts the time to finish hearing a final appeal.

This is NOT what people seem to think it is. He has not STOPPED the execution at all.

[thatsrightimirish]

28. Here is another story on it from SCOTUSBlog

http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/2006/02/alitos_first_vo.html

[wisteria]

34. Please post seperately!! Apparently the article was "Much ado about

nothing". People need to see how we are being manipulated.

[judy]

30. Do not forget that Alito is a Catholic, and might even be

a member of Opus Dei.
The Catholic Church is opposed to the Death Penalty.

Maybe that's why. The Catholic Church is not particularly liberal.

[Orangepeel]

35. Roberts, Scalia and Thomas are all Catholic

and they all voted to kill the guy tonight.

:shrug:

[1monster]

31. They stayed another execution in Florida earlier this week or late

last week (man named Hill) in order to define the method by which convicted and condemned prisoners could make late or last minute appeals.

Today's paper states that the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily stayed Arthur G. Rutherford, again a Florida case, also scheduled to be executed.

Methinks that it is likely that in the future, especially if "Mere-factual-innocence-is no-reason-not-to-carry-out-a-death-sentence-properly-reached" Antonin Scalia gets his way, that last minute or late appeals from death row inmates scheduled for execution will be a thing of the past.

My guess is that these stays are all linked to that issue.

[wisteria]

36. IMO, this is nothing but hype to make the Dem's look bad .

Actually, this isn't much of a ruling at all.

[Zinfandel]

37. It's bullshit spin..Alito's vote wouldn't of changed anything, either way!

It would of been 5-4 if he voted with neo-cons

And it would be 6-3 if he voted with the moderates

They knew what the outcome was going to be, a simple phone call from Scalia or Roberts would let them know what the outcome was going to be...So they could spin it like Alito is a moderate.

Bullshit, Alito's vote didn't make a bit of difference either way!

[radio4progressives]

38. don't believe any such nonesense. First, consider the publicity that would

have invoked straight off the bat... then read the report, Alito's decision on capital punishment cases have been 'mixed' ... and i've read this of Alito's pattern elsewhere.

Alito will please the fascist killer state sooner than you think.

[deadparrot]

39. I'll take what I can get.

It's still *way* too early, but nevertheless...be thankful for every little victory.

[Maraya1969]

40. Maybe he learned something from all the criticism from the left

People can change you know. That is obvious by what other Supreme Court Judges have done.

We can hope.