f/k/a . . .

 

[Note: The serious comments on Judge Alito start

with the “afterthought” section below.  But, don’t let

that stop you from reading the lighter stuff.]

 

The nomination of Samuel Anthony Alito for the U.S.

Supreme Court probably has quite a few lawyers and

law students Turning Italian right about now.  If they

don’t have time for a deep-immersion course in the 

language, I want to recommend Don Cangelosi’s

Italian Without Words (Meadowbrook Press, 1989),

as a practical substitute for serious study. [you can

even look inside the book here for quick pointers]

 

  After spending a little time with Ultralingua,

I can tell trivia lovers that ”alito“ means “breath,” as

well as “puff,” in Italian.

 

alito!

puffs from the right

huffs from the left

 

        dagosan:   [Oct. 31, 2005]

 

Although “scalia” does not appear to be a word in the 

Italian language, “scala” is a scale (measure) or staircase

(think escalator).  Hmm.

  A note to ethnology buffs:  If Sam Alito is anything like

your humble Editor, he does not consider himself to be

“Italian.”  He’s American and, if you insist on further

ethnic classification, he’s Italo/Italian American.  Italian

ancestry is a very good thing, but no one’s taking the

boat back to the Old Country to stay.

 

orig.  

 

afterthought (midnight):  Blue Mass Group weblog has a

very interesting post entitled “One Liberal’s Positive View

of Alito.”  The remarks of a progressive democrat who

clerked for Judge Alito are reassuring and well worth

your attention — especially if you are tempted, like

the self-promoting Chuck Schumer, to react very nega-

tively to Judge Alito, merely because he is clearly a

conservative jurist.   Go now, read Katherine Pringle’s

assessment of her old boss.  (via SCOTUS Blog)

update (Nov. 1, 2005): There are two New York Times pieces

today for those of us who are left-of-center, don’t have to please

constituencies, and want to give Samuel Alito thoughtful consid-

eration.  See “Methodical Jurist/Clear Record” and Ann Althouse’s

“Separated at the Bench,” Nov. 1, 2005).  And, here’s a question

that I believe is worth pondering:

If Judge Alito would indeed be an independent, highly
respected, consensus-building, conservative Justice,
couldn’t he be the best possible person to counter
the extremism of Justice Scalia (pointing out over-

reaching, finding narrower grounds, etc. ) on a Court

that is very likely to have a “conservative” majority

for a very long time?

update (Nov. 2, 2005): In the run-up to the Alito Senate hearings,

I will list here links to other materials from “unexpected” sources

that caution against a knee-jerk reaction to Sam Alito’ nomination.

From TalkLeft: A Defender Praises Alito (Oct. 31, 2005).

Peter Goldberger, a Pennsylvania lawyer, starts his

description of Alito with: Don’t guess at Judge Alito’s

predilictions. I am a full-time criminal defense appellate

litigator, and more than half my cases are in the 3d Circuit.

Alito — unlike some judges we both know — does not “twist

the facts, ignore facts, and even make up facts to make the

facts fit the argument they want to make.” He is intellectually

honest in the highest degree.  . . . He is very conservative,

but he is neither knee-jerk nor dishonest.”

 

From Blue Mass Group: The Alito MoveOn Didn’t Mention

(Nov. 1, 2005): David Kravitz shows how easily the record

of any long-sitting judge can be manipulated.  Kravitz

notes:  “All that this - or any of the other “lists” floating around -

can prove is that Alito has been a judge for a long time; that

 he has decided a lot of tough cases that could have gone

either way; and that you should be very careful about reading

too much into selective “case summaries” proffered by interest

groups with an agenda.”  He continues:

“Bottom line: make up your own mind.  Do some

research on non-partisan sites (SCOTUSblog is

always a good place to start, and any Alito opinion

published in 1996 or later should be available at Findlaw). 

And wait for the confirmation hearings, where you can

bet that Alito will be questioned for hours about many

of the opinions that the lefties are worried about - that,

after all, is what the hearings are for.”

 

                                                                                                                  

 

  

 

 

In a Memo to the American Antitrust Institute, Michael J. Freed, a member

of the AAI Advisory Board, reviews the antitrust record of Judge Samuel Alito,

and concludes that Judge Alito “is unlikely to be a supporter of antitrust en-

forcement.” (”Sam Alito and Antitrust,” Oct. 31, 2005)

 

“BertFoerS”  AAI President Albert Foer gives this summary:

“[Freed] found no relevant articles by Judge Alito, but identified a

small group of cases in which Alito sat as judge where antitrust

issues arose. While one must to some extent read between the

lines in order to find the outlines of a position, it appears that Judge

Alito is not favorably disposed toward the private enforcement of the

antitrust laws. The one case in which he seemed most friendly to

an antitrust claim was decided over fourteen years ago. Mr. Freed

concluded from this research that “Judge Alito is not likely to be a

supporter of antitrust enforcement.”

Freed, a well-respected expert on class actions and complex litigation,

who is a Principal in the Chicago firm of Much Shelist, briefly discusses

eight Alito antitrust cases from the 3rd Circuit.   The cases are:

 

1.  LePage’s Inc. v. 3M, 324 F.3d 141 (3d Cir. 2003) (in dissent) cert. den.,

124 S.Ct. 2932 (June 30, 2004).

 

2.  Joint Stock Society v. UDV North America, Inc., 266 F.3d 164

(3d Cir.2001) (wrote opinion)

 

3 .  Conte Bros. Automotive, Inc. v. Quaker State-Slick 50, Inc.,

165 F.3d, 221 (3d Cir. 1998) (wrote opinion).

 

4 .  Barton & Pittinos, Inc. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 118

F.3d. 178 (3d Cir. 1997) (wrote opinion).

 

                                                                               “AAIS”

 

5 .  David Lerman v. Joyce International, Inc., 10 F.3d 106

(3d Cir.1993) (wrote opinion).

 

6 .  In re Lower Lake Erie Iron Ore Antitrust Litig., 998 F.2d 1144

(3d Cir. 1993) (Alito sought rehearing en banc, which was denied) . 

 

7 .  TICOR Title Insurance Company et al. v. Federal Trade Comm-

ission, 998 F. 2d 1129 (3d Cir. 1991) (Alito dissented).   

 

8  . Ralph J. Miller, M.D. v. Indiana Hospital et. al., 930 F.2d 334

(3d Cir. 1991) (Alito dissent)

 

 

 

 

In Ralph J. Miller, M.D. v. Indiana Hospital et. al., 930 F.2d 334 (3d Cir. 1991),

Judge Alito refused to apply the State Action exemption to the antitrust laws.

The case involved suit by a physician who had staff privileges revoked. He

sued a state hospital and a number of doctors for antitrust violations. The

district court granted summary judgment to the defendants under state-action

antitrust immunity provided in Parker v. Brown. On appeal, the Third Circuit,

in an opinion written by Alito, reversed, holding that it had not been established

that Pennsylvania actively supervised the peer group decision which resulted

in the revocation of staff privileges.  This is the most-recent antitrust case in

which Judge Alito decided favorably to the plaintiff.

 

alito - 

the plaintiff’s bar

shivers

 

            haikuEsq

 

 

 

In a Memo to the American Antitrust Institute, Michael J. Freed, a member

of the AAI Advisory Board, reviews the antitrust record of Judge Samuel Alito,

and concludes that Judge Alito “is unlikely to be a supporter of antitrust en-

forcement.” (”Sam Alito and Antitrust,” Oct. 31, 2005)

 

“BertFoerS”  AAI President Albert Foer gives this summary:

“[Freed] found no relevant articles by Judge Alito, but identified a

small group of cases in which Alito sat as judge where antitrust

issues arose. While one must to some extent read between the

lines in order to find the outlines of a position, it appears that Judge

Alito is not favorably disposed toward the private enforcement of the

antitrust laws. The one case in which he seemed most friendly to

an antitrust claim was decided over fourteen years ago. Mr. Freed

concluded from this research that “Judge Alito is not likely to be a

supporter of antitrust enforcement.”

Freed, a well-respected expert on class actions and complex litigation,

who is a Principal in the Chicago firm of Much Shelist, briefly discusses

eight Alito antitrust cases from the 3rd Circuit.   The cases are:

 

1.  LePage’s Inc. v. 3M, 324 F.3d 141 (3d Cir. 2003) (in dissent) cert. den.,

124 S.Ct. 2932 (June 30, 2004).

 

2.  Joint Stock Society v. UDV North America, Inc., 266 F.3d 164

(3d Cir.2001) (wrote opinion)

 

3 .  Conte Bros. Automotive, Inc. v. Quaker State-Slick 50, Inc.,

165 F.3d, 221 (3d Cir. 1998) (wrote opinion).

 

4 .  Barton & Pittinos, Inc. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 118

F.3d. 178 (3d Cir. 1997) (wrote opinion).

 

                                                                               “AAIS”

 

5 .  David Lerman v. Joyce International, Inc., 10 F.3d 106

(3d Cir.1993) (wrote opinion).

 

6 .  In re Lower Lake Erie Iron Ore Antitrust Litig., 998 F.2d 1144

(3d Cir. 1993) (Alito sought rehearing en banc, which was denied) . 

 

7 .  TICOR Title Insurance Company et al. v. Federal Trade Comm-

ission, 998 F. 2d 1129 (3d Cir. 1991) (Alito dissented).   

 

8  . Ralph J. Miller, M.D. v. Indiana Hospital et. al., 930 F.2d 334

(3d Cir. 1991) (Alito dissent)

 

 

 

 

In Ralph J. Miller, M.D. v. Indiana Hospital et. al., 930 F.2d 334 (3d Cir. 1991),

Judge Alito refused to apply the State Action exemption to the antitrust laws.

The case involved suit by a physician who had staff privileges revoked. He

sued a state hospital and a number of doctors for antitrust violations. The

district court granted summary judgment to the defendants under state-action

antitrust immunity provided in Parker v. Brown. On appeal, the Third Circuit,

in an opinion written by Alito, reversed, holding that it had not been established

that Pennsylvania actively supervised the peer group decision which resulted

in the revocation of staff privileges.  This is the most-recent antitrust case in

which Judge Alito decided favorably to the plaintiff.

 

alito - 

the plaintiff’s bar

shivers

 

            haikuEsq

 

 

 

Our plea from a year ago is as fresh as ever - vote for a kid-centered halloween. This morning’s post at Overlawyered.com shows that the spoilsports are at it again this year in Canada (don’t want to upset the wiccans). And, in Hammonton, New Jersey, the school district (nbc10news.com):

“decided to do away with scary outfits and the traditional procession because they were worried about too many unidentified family members descending on the school.

So, no costumes in Hammonton schools — instead, they’ll be having a (very exciting) “Orange and Black Day.” There are no details on just how you might celebrate O&B Day.

halloween twilight
again this year my son waits
alone by the door

……………………… by Roberta Beary, The Unworn Necklace (2007)
1st place, Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest 2006

 

tawny sunset
and a family of crows –
empty treat bowl

……………………………………….. dagosan [Oct. 31, 2005]

Of course, good haijin everywhere will be penning haiku and senryu for Halloween. Check out today’s Morden Haiku, and Saturday’s, too. There’s also a treat for you from David at haikupoet.com.

Also, DeVar Dahl

frozen pumpkin-
the little ghost’s
parka and mitts

and Roberta Beary

Halloween twilight
army helicopters
fill the sky

. . . were among a couple dozen poets contributing to the Shiki Kukai Halloween contest in 2001. Click to find over 40 other one-breath Halloween poems.

 

Preter-naturally, the always-generous ed markowski has been brewing a batch of goodies for haikuEsq to hand out to you this Halloween Day (in addition to the pair we shared yesterday):

halloween snow
the yeti’s
tiny footprints

halloween party
she qualifies each sentence
with ‘honest’

halloween mail
a bill arrives
from the plastic surgeon

devil’s night
father john’s profile fills
the confessional screen

…………………………………………..ed markowski

The f/k/a gang hopes everyone, young and old and in between, will have a fun and safe Halloween. We may have a few more haiku treats throughout the day, so don’t be to shy to knock on our door again.

- got time to kill before trick-or-treating? Float over to Blawg Review 30, for the Denise Howell-ween special.

who are you
today?
Goth kids yell “trick-or-treat”

……………………………………………………. by dagosan [Oct. 31, 2005]