Date: January, 9 2006
Senator: Whitman
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SPECTER: Our next presenter is Governor Whitman, distinguished, two-term governor for the State of New Jersey, Cabinet of President Bush as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
We welcome you here, Governor Whitman, and look forward to your testimony.
WHITMAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to be here today with Senator Lautenberg to introduce Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.
I do urge your support for his nomination to the Supreme Court.
WHITMAN: I won't go into his family background -- Senator Lautenberg has done that -- save to mention one member of the family that he didn't, which is that the judge's sister, Rosemary, is a nationally recognized employment attorney, and someone who's recognized as part of a family that has devoted itself to public service and continues to do that.
Judge Alito personifies the motto of his -- the civic pride embodied in the slogan of his hometown: "Trenton makes, the world takes."
And with the consent of the Senate, one of the most important bodies in the world, the United States Supreme Court, can take a proud product of Trenton, New Jersey, into their chambers.
But I'm not here to discuss President Alito's family background or his state ties. I'm here to discuss his own history of achievement and his potential to be a great associate justice of our Supreme Court.
Sam Alito has excelled at everything he has undertaken. He was an exceptional student at Princeton University and Yale Law School, an outstanding young attorney at the Justice Department, an accomplished United States attorney, and for the past 15 years has been a respected and exemplary federal appeals court judge.
The American Bar Association just gave him their highest rating for his seat as justice. And in his past two appearances before the Senate for confirmation, he has received unanimous support.
There is, however, more to my support of Judge Alito. Like other Americans, I have read many articles dissecting positions Judge Alito has taken throughout his career trying to discern how he might decide on issues likely to appear before the Supreme Court that he would confront as a justice. I, too, have examined the record.
In the final analysis, my decision to support Judge Alito for this position is not based on whether I agree with him on a particular issue or set of issues, or on his conformity with any particular political ideology. In fact, while we may agree on some political issues, I know there are others on which we disagree.
Nevertheless, one's agreement or disagreement on political questions is after all ultimately irrelevant to the issue of whether or not Judge Alito should serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.
WHITMAN: The court's role is not to rule based on justices' personal persuasions, rather on persuasive arguments grounded on fact, those facts presented in that particular case, and on their interpretation of the Constitution.
Those decisions are, of course, grounded in the hard reality of disputed fact and the messiness of the real world. But they are also guided by principles of law and justice which have long been treasured by the people of this country.
We should look for justices who understand that instinctively in the very core of their being.
I saw this trait on Judge Alito when he served on the appeals court during my terms as governor. And I have every reason and every confidence that he will exhibit the same as a Supreme Court justice.
Policy in the United States is defined through the laws crafted by the legislative branches of government and carried out by the executive. Our judges make decisions based on their interpretation of the intent of those laws.
We don't want justices to conform their decisions to ideologies. We do want justices whose opinions are shaped by the facts before them and by their understanding of the Constitution.
We should also look for justices who possess the necessary qualities of intellect and humility desirable in those with great responsibility and who can express their thinking clearly and in understandable language.
While we should expect that justices will hold philosophies that will guide their decisions, we should equally expect that they will not hold ideologies that will predetermine their decisions. That is the genius of our system.
Mr. Chairman, some have suggested that Judge Alito has an ideological agenda. I believe that an honest and complete review of his record as a whole will find that his only agenda is fidelity to his judicial craft.
If Judge Alito has a bias, it's in favor of narrowly drawn opinions that respect precedent and reflect the facts before him.
WHITMAN: Members of the committee, yours is an extraordinary responsibility. Decisions by our Supreme Court will affect the lives of Americans for generations to come.
As politicians, whether current or retired, we all have deeply held positions we want to protect. When I was governor, it fell to me five times to appoint members of the New Jersey State Supreme Court.
One thing that experience taught me was that it is virtually impossible to find judges who will act as you would act were you in their position. That's as it should be.
Your responsibility is, to the extent possible, to determine whether or not the nominee before you has the legal background, intelligence and integrity to be a credit to the court.
Sam Alito has been a model as a federal appeals court judge. He has shown that he has the intellect, the experience and the temperament to serve with true distinction.
I have every confidence he will be a balanced, fair and thoughtful justice. I urge this committee to favorably report his nomination to the United States Senate.
Thank you very much.
SPECTER: Thank you very much, Governor Whitman. Without objection, the statement of Senator Corzine will be made a part of the record.
We appreciate your coming, Senator Lautenberg.
We appreciate your coming, Governor Whitman.
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