WHICH PLANK OF THE DEMOCRATIC CONTRACT WITH AMERICA WILL THAT BE?:

Alito's remark on strip search of girl, 10, prompts questions (Michael Kranish and Alan Wirzbicki, November 25, 2005, Boston Globe)

As lawyer Andrew Solomon argued his client's case in 2003, before Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the federal Third Circuit Court, Alito raised a question.

''Why do you keep bringing up the fact that this case involves the strip search of a 10-year-old child?" Alito said, according to Solomon, lawyer for the girl.

Alito made his remark in a case that may become one of the most discussed of his career, as he heads toward Senate confirmation hearings in January.

Analysts familiar with Alito's decisions say the remark reflects his approach to law-and-order issues -- giving latitude and casting a skeptical eye on views that officers exceeded their authority. [...]

Whatever the merits of the case, analysts on both sides agree that Alito's strict view on law-and-order cases may be decisive on a Supreme Court that has been narrowly divided on cases involving civil liberties, the death penalty, and the rights of defendants.

Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a Harvard Law School professor, said that if Alito is confirmed, he would become a swing vote on criminal cases. ''Some of the highly contested 5-4 decisions over the last decade are likely to swing to a more conservative point of view, with fewer rights for suspects, more power for police, and less protection for suspects who are under policy scrutiny," Ogletree said.

There's an argument the Democrats can take to the public: we're for more criminal rights and less police power over suspects.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 25, 2005 12:28 PM