In ‘81, Alito Argued Against Black Panther Appeal
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WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. recommended against appealing a ruling that revived a Black Panther Party lawsuit against the government 25 years ago, according to documents released Wednesday.
Alito, who was working in the Justice Department of the Reagan administration, argued that the department could win the case in a lower court.
“None of the legal issues presented by this case seems to warrant Supreme Court review,” Alito wrote on Nov. 19, 1981, while he was an assistant to the solicitor general.
The Justice Department went on to appeal the case to the high court, which ordered the Black Panther lawsuit thrown out.
The Alito memo was among another batch of his papers released Wednesday by the National Archives.
Unlike other Alito documents, these 291 documents sparked little interest from groups promoting or opposing his nomination to the Supreme Court.
President Bush chose him to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
His confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin Jan. 9.
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