Law Students Against Alito

Newer Chapters of LSAA!

2005-12-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

We've added a great group of new chapters to LSAA! Here's the complete, list, with new members in bold:

UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall)
Boston College
Columbia University
Creighton University
Florida State University
Harvard University
Nova Southeastern University
University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University
Rutgers University
Seattle University
Temple University
Villanova University
University of Wisconsin
Yale University

If you're interested in starting up a chapter of Law Students Against Alito, or if you'd like to contact any of these chapters, please send us an email.

LSAA in the News

2005-11-17T14:40:00.000-05:00

Law Students Against Alito was written up in the New York Times last Sunday.

Here's some background reading.
Know your rights, and know where he's wrong.

Cass Sunstein analyzes Alito's dissents in the Washington Post, finding that they would have limited civil rights and diluted the constitutional rights of criminal defendants.

Slate's William Saletan on how Alito's opinions treat women like girls.

Even an article in the Wall Street Journal concedes that Alito's federalism decisions are in the extreme.

Welcome to the Good Fight

2005-11-11T19:25:00.000-05:00

We have created this website to organize a national network of law students who oppose the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Here’s what you can do to make our generation’s voice heard.

First, sign our petition to the Senate opposing the nomination.

Second, if your school does not already have a group opposing the nomination, help start one. E-mail us if you would like help getting started, and we will link your efforts to those on campuses around the country.

We have set up pages for each Gang of 14 state below to coordinate law student efforts. Please post news, links, event announcements, and other information for the LSAA effort in your state.

While we encourage you to be creative in planning activities at your school, we should all call and write our Senators. You can find information on contacting your Senators by clicking on the state entry below. You can also ask to set up meetings with your Senators and their staffs to let them know that law students oppose Alito’s nomination. These can be powerful influences on a Senator’s decision.

You should also write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper, which will be read on the Hill and by your fellow citizens. The state pages contain sample letters and contact information for newspapers.

If you have questions or ideas for what we can do, please contact us at againstalito@yahoo.com.

If you would like us to set up an area for a state that's outside the Gang of 14, just let us know.

You Want Answers? We Think We’re Entitled To Them

2005-11-07T15:25:00.000-05:00

We know Judge Alito is a radical conservative, but during the Senate hearings the Administration will try to portray him as a mild-mannered mainstream nominee. Of course he won’t admit to having an “agenda,” but not having an announced agenda does not mean he won’t radically alter the balance on the Court. During these hearings, Senators must show Judge Alito to be what he is: a conservative from the far right of the spectrum.

What questions should Senators ask to force Judge Alito to explain his conservative viewpoints to the American people? Dahlia Lithwick has suggested a few to get us started at the end of this recent piece in Slate. E-mail us or post your questions here and we will send the best to the Judiciary Committee. If a radical conservative is going to be appointed to the Supreme Court, America deserves to know exactly what that will mean for our future.

What’s Wrong With Alito?

2005-11-07T15:23:00.000-05:00

Conservatives are out in force all over the media trying to convince people that Samuel Alito is “mainstream.” We know that’s a lie. Judge Alito is a darling of the radical right and has been for years. Moderate leaders need to explain in simple and cogent terms why Samual Alito is wrong for America. So we’re hosting a contest to collectively put together the Top 10 Reasons Samuel Alito Is Wrong For America.

America’s law students have read the case law and understand legal doctrine. We can explain why Judge Alito is an extreme conservative whose appointment to the Supreme Court would mark a radical and undesirable shift in the law. E-mail us or post a one-sentence comment below with your reason why Samuel Alito, based on his judicial opinions and the judicial philosophy of the conservative ideological movement, is wrong for America. We’ll compile the top 10 reasons and release them to the media and share them with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

LSAA - Arizona

2005-11-01T22:55:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. John McCain.

LSAA - Arkansas

2005-11-01T22:54:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Mark Pryor.

LSAA - Colorado

2005-11-01T22:53:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Ken Salazar.

LSAA - Connecticut

2005-11-01T22:52:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

LSAA - Hawaii

2005-11-01T22:51:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Daniel Inouye.

LSAA - Louisiana

2005-11-01T22:50:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Mary Landrieu.

LSAA - Maine

2005-11-01T22:49:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins.

LSAA - Nebraska

2005-11-01T22:48:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Ben Nelson.

LSAA - Ohio

2005-11-01T22:47:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Michael DeWine.

LSAA - Rhode Island

2005-11-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

LSAA - South Carolina

2005-11-01T22:45:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. Lindsey Graham

LSAA - Virginia

2005-11-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

News and updates from the home state of Sen. John Warner.

LSAA - West Virginia

2005-11-01T22:43:00.000-05:00

Updates on the effort in the home state of Sen. Robert Byrd

Sample Letter to the Editor

2005-10-30T18:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Editor,

In your coverage of Judge Samuel Alito, you have not addressed the growing opposition to Alito’s nomination among America’s law students. This opposition is telling. Law students are particularly well equipped to see this nomination for what it actually is: an attempt to place a member of a small conservative minority on the Court in order to dramatically shift the balance of the law to the far right.

Many of my fellow students and I oppose this nomination because a Court controlled by movement conservatives like Judge Alito will roll back our right to privacy, will overturn years of progress on civil rights, and will strip Congress of the power to solve pressing national problems, such as keeping guns out of our schools and domestic violence out of our homes. We hope all Americans will join students around the country in demanding a more mainstream appointment to the Supreme Court.

Sincerely
[Your Name]
[Your School or Home Town]
Law Students Against Alito

Sample Letter to Your Senator

2005-10-30T12:08:00.000-05:00

Dear Senator [Senator’s name here]:

As a law student in [your state here], I write to express my opposition to President Bush’s nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. It is my generation of law students that will practice law under the decisions of the Justices now being placed on the Supreme Court, and will bear the great responsibility of challenging decisions that restrict fundamental rights and freedoms.

A small conservative minority of America's legal elite has a radical agenda to change American law, beginning by changing the composition and balance of the Supreme Court. The vision of this minority would limit Congress's ability to solve America's problems, deny fundamental constitutional rights including basic rights to privacy, and undo the tremendous progress our nation has made over the past few generations in protecting the civil rights of all Americans. Judge Alito is an active member of this extreme minority and we are therefore strongly opposed to his nomination. I am especially troubled that this nominee would take the place of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was a consistent voice of balance, stability, and moderation.

As a Senator, you have the constitutional obligation to stand as a bulwark against the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice whose views represent only a narrow segment of our nation. Your Advise and Consent power means that you can and should ensure that American jurisprudence continues to be characterized by justice and freedom for all, rather than advancing the political agenda of a few.

I urge you to vote against Judge Alito, and to ask the President to select a mainstream nominee who can unite all Americans. Finally, I urge you to take the long view when it comes to the composition of the Court as my generation and our children and grandchildren will live for decades with the decisions you make today.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[School]
[Home Town, if it is the same as the state of your school]