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U.S. Supreme Court

Chat with Alito has Nelson wary

"I didn't hear from him what I wanted to hear,' he says. GOP's Martinez will vote to confirm.

By BILL ADAIR
Published January 19, 2006

WASHINGTON - It appears Florida's senators are going to vote along party lines on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

After meeting with Alito on Wednesday, Sen. Bill Nelson said he had not made a final decision, but he sounded like he was leaning against the nomination.

Nelson, a Democrat who is seeking re-election this year, said he sought the meeting with Alito to talk about what Nelson termed Alito's long history of "being in favor of big government and big corporations versus the little guy."

Nelson said he was not satisfied with Alito's answer about a Supreme Court decision last year that allowed local governments to seize someone's home to allow a new economic development project.

"I didn't hear from him what I wanted to hear, that he would stand on the side of those individual rights of a person's home so that government can't snatch away their home," Nelson said.

Nelson, who supported Chief Justice John Roberts last fall, said he will be making a decision in a few days.

Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican, said Wednesday that he would support Alito.

"Judge Alito is thoughtful, experienced and well-qualified to serve on our nation's highest court," Martinez said. "His integrity is above reproach and he exhibits the type of jurisprudence that will well serve our country."

Alito is expected to win approval in the Senate late next week even though most Democrats are expected to vote against him.

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, announced he was supporting Alito "because of his impeccable judicial credentials, the American Bar Association's strong recommendation and his pledge that he would not bring a political agenda to the court."

But Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said after a morning meeting with Alito that the nominee was outside the mainstream of judicial thinking.

"He's just not right for Montana, he's just not right for America," Baucus said. "He's very polished and he answered all of the questions I was going to ask. There is just a little too much inconsistency."

Baucus said he is concerned that Alito leans toward giving too much power to the executive branch and has wavered on the right to privacy. He said he was also concerned about Alito's membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which discouraged the admission of women and minorities at the Ivy League school.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., also said she would vote against Alito. "I have a lot of unanswered questions," Mikulski said after attending the swearing-in of new Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this report

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 01:49:14]