My first opportunity to meet
Judge Alito introduced me to his diligence and sense of duty.
The remainder of my interactions with him have verified my
initial impressions. I met Judge Alito in his chambers a few
weeks after the September 11, 2001 tragedy. As the Adjutant and
a Company Commander in a Reserve Reception Battalion in
Pasadena, California, I had difficulty getting authorization to
travel to New Jersey for a job interview. Notwithstanding Judge
Alito’s assurances that I did not need to travel to meet him
face to face, as an ambitious law student, I was determined to
do so. When I arrived in Newark, New Jersey, at the U.S. Post
Office and Courthouse where Judge Alito’s chambers are located,
he and the security guards were the only people there. It was a
holiday, no clerks were working, no other employees in the
building were working, but Judge Alito was steadily preparing
for an upcoming sitting. Yet, he took the time to tell me how
he prepared for oral arguments and what he required of his law
clerks in contributing to the decision-making process. Then, he
took the time to tour his chambers and the courthouse with me.
As I clerked for Judge
Alito, I saw this same sense of duty, diligence, humanity, and
respect for his role as a federal appellate judge. Judge Alito
required searching analysis of the factual and procedural
background of every case. He required thorough evaluation of
the applicable law in every case. And, he uniformly applied the
applicable law to the facts of every case. Judge Alito
recognized that every case was the most important case on the
docket to the parties and attorneys with something at stake.
There was no wavering from this consistent, predictable method
of his judicial decision-making process. Working for Judge
Alito, I saw in him an abiding loyalty to a fair judicial
process as opposed to an enslaved inclination toward a political
or personal ideology.
What I found most intriguing
and particularly exceptional about Judge Alito’s judicial
decision-making process was the conspicuous absence of personal
predilections. As a novice recent law school graduate, I
incorrectly began the time I spent in Judge Alito’s chambers by
occasionally coming to conclusions about a case after a cursory
review of the briefs. I quickly learned that Judge Alito had no
tolerance for any recommendation that was not consistent with a
searching review of the law. I never witnessed an occasion when
personal or ideological beliefs motivated a specific outcome in
a case. After a year of working closely with the judge on cases
concerning a wide variety of legal issues, I left New Jersey not
knowing Judge Alito’s personal beliefs on any of them. The
reason I did not know Judge Alito’s personal beliefs was that
the jurist’s ideology was never an issue in any case he
considered while I was in his chambers. In fact, it is never an
issue in any case. My fellow former co-clerks have agreed and
communicated this notion in a letter we provided to this
committee.
Although Judge Alito’s sense
of duty, diligence, and the decision-making process have
inspired the collective support of his former law clerks, there
is an additional characteristic that also heavily impressed me
personally. On a daily basis, Judge Alito dealt with a wide
variety of individuals, including law clerks, fellow judges,
experienced and inexperienced attorneys, UPS delivery personnel,
law students, janitorial staff, and individuals throughout the
community. Without fail, I saw Judge Alito treat everyone with
dignity and respect. In fact, on one occasion, my parents went
to New Jersey to visit me. Judge Alito suggested that I bring
them to chambers. Because oral arguments in several cases were
rapidly approaching, I thought Judge Alito would shake their
hands and we would be on our way. Over an hour later, after
sitting down and talking with Judge Alito, my parents understood
my tremendous respect for this jurist. That day, my parents
left Judge Alito’s chambers believing that meeting them was the
highlight of Judge Alito’s day.
Working for Judge Alito
provided me with the opportunity to witness American justice at
work. I saw a jurist with an abiding respect for the strength,
purpose, and authority of our Constitution, and a particular
regard for the limited role of the judiciary envisioned in the
framers’ separation of powers. From my experience, I will feel
confident with Judge Alito serving as an Associate Justice on
the U.S. Supreme Court, interpreting laws that affect me. It
was my honor and privilege to clerk for him, and it is my honor
to appear here on his behalf.
I would be pleased to answer
any questions you may have.
