Leahy Says He'll Vote Against Alito (NYTimes.com) By MARIA NEWMAN
Published: January 19, 2006

In an indication of how Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. may fare when the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on his confirmation next Tuesday, Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont today became the first Democrat on the committee to declare his intention to vote against him.

Mr. Leahy told an audience at the Georgetown Law School that he did not believe Judge Alito would act independently of an executive branch that would exceed its powers.

"I cannot vote for this nomination," Mr. Leahy said. "I will not vote for this nomination."

Mr. Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said he voted for the nomination of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. last year. But he said he was concerned by Judge Alito's responses during the committee hearings last week on the issues of privacy and conflicts between government and individuals. But mostly, he said he was troubled that Judge Alito, who has spent his entire legal career working for the government, would be too deferential to what the senator called his "patrons."

"At a time when the president is seizing unprecedented power, the Supreme Court needs to be a check and balance," he said. "Based on the hearing and his record, I have no confidence that Judge Alito will provide that check and balance."

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