By MARK HENGEL
LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

Samuel Alito's judicial hearings dominate the headlines now, but the years of work that led to his nomination should frame the judicial nomination debate, said Samuel Bagenstos, professor in the law school at Washington University in St. Louis.

Bagenstos spoke to 77 students at the University of Central Arkansas Honors College on Tuesday. The lecture was co-sponsored by the Hendrix and UCA Young Democrats and the Center for American Progress.

Bagenstos argued the modern political process prevents the open discussion of judicial doctrine. Doctrine should take a central role in court appointments, he argued. Many lawyers, judges and intellectuals have the experience to become Supreme Court justices, but the nation should engage in a discourse about its direction while appointing justices.

Hendrix College Young Democrats President Max Deitschler said he and David Seaton, the UCA chapter president, chose to host Bagenstos to offer students a resource that is more informative than C-SPAN.

Bagenstos took on the media and its nomination coverage after a student asked him a question.

"It is not the media's substance but the process," he said.

The justice selection process has evolved since Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Bork in 1987. Bork's rejection caused judicial nominees to avoid stating their beliefs during the Senate's hearings.

Democrats rejected Bork because his views ran opposite to public opinion, Bagenstos argued. Presidents learned from the rejection and now nominate justices whose political beliefs are established, but whose opinions cannot tie them directly to unfavorable views on issues such as abortion and civil liberties.

"Alito is a great judge, and I do not question his ability, but there should be a conversation about the intellectual direction of the country," Bagenstos said. "Alito's lack of philosophy (in the hearings) hurt the United States."

Democrats needed to raise their contentions with Alito's judicial doctrine before his confirmation hearings so normal Americans could understand whether they believed he should occupy one of the Supreme Court seats. The Democrats waited too late in order to affect Alito's nomination, he said.

The Center for American Progress assisted the two Young Democrats chapters with the event's organization. The center is a liberal think tank modeled on the conservative Heritage Foundation, Bagenstos said. The center assisted with seven events nationwide. Seaton said the UCA and Hendrix collaboration brought the highest attendance. The University of Southern California's event gathered 75 students, he said.

(Staff writer Mark Hengel can be reached by e-mail at mark.hengel @thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1238.)

 

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