Alito used to be a libertarian?


How much did the SCOTUS nominee change from his days as a Princeton student?
It's an intriguing question, especially after seeing this.

Three decades before the Supreme Court decriminalized gay sex, Alito declared on behalf of his group of fellow Princeton students that "no private sexual act between consenting adults should be forbidden." Alito also called for an end to discrimination against homosexuals in hiring.

As a federal appellate judge, Alito has built a scant record on gay-rights issues and a mixed one, at best, on privacy matters generally, in the view of civil liberties advocates who are still examining his opinions.

But they saw in the 1971 report a prescient thinker taking on issues ahead of their time, including the need for computer encryption, stronger oversight of domestic intelligence and curbs on the surveillance powers of states.

I'll be very curious to see if that makes it into the Senate hearing, and what the reaction might be.

In the two cases I have had a chance to look at so far, there was more left out of the soundbites than was put in. For example, in the strip search case, the actual search was performed by a female officer away from the main search. It still stretched the terms of the warrant in my opinion, but it was technically covered.

I am going to take the time today to look at some of his other cases.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - November 3, 2005 at 05:15 AM  Tag


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