Justice Alito Becomes More Vocal
The U.S. Supreme Court’s newest justice may have trouble with the microphone before him on the bench, but now the rookie is asking more questions and displaying practical knowledge from years on a federal appeals court.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was “an unassuming, button-down justice who asked few questions in his first year,” USA Today reports. But he has “has emerged in his second year as a strong force during the court’s spirited oral arguments, particularly in criminal law cases.”
Alito is a former prosecutor and appellate judge who spent 16 years on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Observers told the newspaper his background explains why he sides with law enforcement and takes an interest in sentencing issues.
“He’s bringing his prosecutorial experience to bear in oral arguments,” said Stanford University law professor Jeffrey Fisher. “He has not yet shown any interest in second-guessing the federal government.”
Alito told the newspaper why he has become more like his colleagues who ask frequent questions during oral arguments. “I did feel, as the newest justice, I should be deferential,” he said. “I didn’t want to cut off any of their questions.”
