Mollie Hemingway writes for the Federalist about her favorite US Supreme Court justice.
Justice Samuel Alito marks his 20th year on the Supreme Court, a milestone that coincides with the release of my new book this month, Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution. The timing feels right. America needs reminding of what a real judge looks like in an era when the court faces relentless attacks from those who prefer activist robes to actual jurisprudence. Alito embodies the quiet courage that has delivered some of the most important victories for constitutional liberty in generations. …
… There is no question Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas have been the fan favorites of many conservative court watchers. But for a certain type of conservative, Alito’s valiant cheering for a better, previous version of America, even if it’s a losing prospect, is deeply attractive.
Social critic Albert Jay Nock recounted how God sent Isaiah to preach repentance but warned him, “it won’t do any good.” When Isaiah asked what the point was, he was told, “There is a Remnant here that you know nothing about … They need to be encouraged and braced up because when everything has gone completely to the dogs, they are the ones who will come back and build up a new society.” It’s a good description of Alito’s role.
He represents the best of mid-20th-century America, a country that is disappearing. He laments how wealthy elites have never had to deal with urban dystopias that have affected middle- and lower-class Americans. He takes criminal prosecutions more seriously than his colleagues. He is stalwart in his defense of a moral code that until recently was universally recognized in America.
“You get the sense with other justices that they think the country is going to get better because the court is issuing decisions that are good and they have a great job,” one highly placed court observer told me. “Alito recognizes that even if the court is doing great things, it’s much harder, if not impossible, to put the toothpaste back in the tube.”
