College of Law professors selected to review Alito’s qualifications for Supreme Court position

College of Law professors selected to review Alito’s qualifications for Supreme Court position January 12, 2006Jaclyn D. Grossojgrosso@law.syr.edu

Syracuse University College of Law provided one of the two academic reading groups that evaluated Judge Samuel Alito’s written work as part of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) evaluation of his qualifications for the position of Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Alito’s qualifications were reviewed in the areas of integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament?the criteria on which the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary (SCFJ) rates all federal judicial nominees. The SCFJ gave Judge Alito a unanimous rating of “well qualified,” the highest rating a nominee can receive.

The SU reading group, chaired by Lisa A. Dolak, professor of law and senior associate dean for academic affairs, consisted of 10 members of the College of Law faculty who have expertise across a wide spectrum of substantive legal issues.

“We were very pleased to be invited to participate in this extremely important and highly influential evaluation process,” says Dolak. “Each member of the committee solemnly discharged his or her duty to thoughtfully evaluate Judge Alito’s written work against the ABA’s criteria. It is truly an honor to have played this part in our nation’s constitutional history.”

Other College of Law faculty members who served as reading group members include Assistant Professor Aviva Abramovsky; Hannah R. Arterian, dean and professor of law;William C. Banks, Board of Advisors Professor of Law and Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor; Professor Peter A. Bell; Assistant Professor Sanjay Chhablani; David M. Driesen, Angela R. Cooney Professor of Law; Professor Margaret M. Harding,; Associate Professor Janis L. McDonald; and William M. Wiecek, Congdon Professor of Public Law and Legislation and professor of history. Individual members carefully and independently evaluated a substantial number of Judge Alito’s judicial opinions and other writings and reported to the SCFJ regarding Judge Alito’s qualifications.

The second academic reading group consisted of professors from Georgetown University Law Center.

Founded in 1895, Syracuse University College of Law is one of only 17 private law schools in the United States affiliated with a leading research institution. The College of Law includes seven applied learning centers led by nationally recognized experts in Disability Law and Policy; Family Law and Social Policy; Global Law and Practice; Indigenous Law, Governance and Citizenship; Law and Business Enterprise; Law, Technology and Management; and National Security and Counterterrorism. Its location on the Syracuse University campus allows students to pursue interdisciplinary academic studies with joint degree programs through other colleges. For more information visit www.law.syr.edu.