Fair court alliance Ohio: a coalition to stop Alito

by Kelsey McCoy

Confirmation hearings for the nomination of Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court began on Monday, January 9. Alito is a 55 year old conservative jurist on the federal appeals court. Alito would potentially bring a conservative judicial philosophy to the Supreme Court. And with justices serving on the Supreme Court for life, Alito could be shaping American law for at least the next thirty years.

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Alito wrote in dissent that a woman should be forced, by law, to notify her husband if she decides to have an abortion, restricting privacy rights. In U.S v. Rybar, Alito argued in dissent that banning possession of fully automatic, repeating machine guns is unconstitutional. In Public Interest Research Group v. Magnesium Electron, Alito sided with a corporate polluter, erasing their $2.62 million fine for violating the Clean Water Act 150 times.

A coalition has come together to oppose the nomination. Fair Court Alliance Ohio includes InterAct, Students for Peace and Justice, College Democrats, Open Doors, VOX, the OU chapters of the Sierra Club and ACLU as well as student organizations at Ohio State and Cincinnati State. The group has worked to draw media attention to the issue through tabling three or four times a week. At the tables, coalition members took pictures of students for a photo petition.

The photo petition visually exemplifies opposition of students across the country. The petition is legitimate, but is intended more to draw attention from the media, as well as students. The photo petition includes pictures of students holding signs that say why they oppose Alito’s nomination. The signs include things like “My body, my choice” and “Prevent Alit-opression”. You can check out the petition online at www.alitosamerica.org.

The coalition is just getting started, but VOX (a pro-choice group run by Planned Parenthood) has been working on a campaign since the confirmation of Chief Justice Roberts. VOX representative Alyssa Jerzyk said that Planned Parenthood is careful about the decision to oppose a Supreme Court nominee. “The fact that we opposed Alito right out of the gate illustrated just how terrible Alito is for women’s rights,” Jerzyk said. The VOX campaign includes distributing signature cards that will be sent in mass to Senator DeWine, urging him to “oppose any Supreme Court nominee who does not believe the Constitution protects a woman’s right to choose”.

This article is being published close to the vote for confirmation. To write Senator DeWine, send letters to: Sen. Mike DeWine, 140 Russell Senate Building, Washington, DC 20510. The photo petition will be available at tables on campus weekly. For more information, visit www.alitosamerica.org.