Contact: Ashley Carr, Director of Communications 202/785-7745 carra@aauw.org
Jan. 4, 2006

Washington, D.C. — After a careful review of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito’s record, including 15 years of appellate opinions, the more than 100,000-member American Association of University Women (AAUW) today announced its opposition to Alito and urged the Senate to reject the candidate, citing grave concerns about equity for women and girls.

"Alito's well-documented legal philosophy will lead to decisions that will jeopardize decades of progress that women and girls have won in the courts. Many key verdicts that have resulted in remarkable gains in gender equity may now be in serious question." said Lisa M. Maatz, director of public policy and government relations for AAUW. "Given that Alito has been nominated to replace the swing vote of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a mainstream conservative, this nomination has much at stake for women and girls."

AAUW believes Alito is not the mainstream, moderate jurist the organization has advocated for in judicial nominees at all levels of the court system. AAUW outlines several key areas in Alito's record that led to their opposition:

• Equal opportunity and legal protections against discrimination: Alito has a troubling record on a range of civil rights issues, revealing a philosophy that would weaken workplace protections that are central to addressing discrimination again women. A number of Alito's opinions would make it harder for employees to win their suits or even get their case to trial. Alito has also demonstrated hostility toward affirmative actions, dismissed constitutional protections against sexual harassment in schools, and aggressively sought to curb congressional authority to legislate on issues such as family and medical leave. In several of these case, U.S. Supreme Court decisions has later espoused views opposite to those put forward by Alito, showing him to be far outside the mainstream.
  
• Reproductive rights and respect or precedent: Alito has actively rejected a women's constitutional rights to choose, supported limits on abortion, and consistently upheld limits to this fundamental right. While Alito has been careful to stress the importance of stare decisis with senators, his recognitions of the importance is not a predictor that he would follow the principle if confirmed. As a member of the nation's highest court, the obligation to follow settled law is different. While stare decisis is still a favored principle, the Supreme Court can and does overturn precedent if it feels the situation is warranted and if it has the votes to do so. Since Alito helped develop the strategy for undermining women's reproductive rights1, it stands to reason that Roe v. Wade and related cases maintaining the right to privacy could fall within the exceptions Alito has set for himself regarding adherence to stare decisis.

"Taken as a whole. Alito's publicly available record-both from his government service and his tenure on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals-illustrates a judicial philosophy at odds with AAUW's mission and member-adopted Public Policy Program," said Maatz. "AAUW believes Alito's legal philosophy has unacceptably tainted his ability to apply established legal precedents on civil rights issues critical to women and girls-issues central to AAUW's mission for more than 100 years."

"Our members hope that the Senate considers the message of AAUW's tag line-because equity is still on issue-during this critical vote. AAUW urges senators to reject Alito's nomination and choose someone with a commitment to equity for women and girls," Maatz concluded.

1 Memorandum from Samuel A. Alito, Assistant to the Solicitor General, to Charles Fried, Acting Solicitor General, re Thornberg v. American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists(June 3, 1985).

 For the most recent information on AAUW's position on Supreme Court nominations, please visit our Judicial Nominations web page.

Please contact Ashley Carr at carra@aauw.org or 202/785-7745 for more information.

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The American Association of University Women, with its nationwide network of
more than 100,000 bipartisan members and 1,300 branches, has been a leading advocate for equity for women and girls since 1881.

AAUW: Because Equity is Still An Issue