Jon Kyl in Alito Confirmation Hearings

On Abortion: Nominees should not reveal pre-determined positions on Roe

SEN. KYL: You have declined to announce your constitutional view of Roe, despite repeated attempts by some of my colleagues. Implied in your answer is the point that to do that here would commit you to a particular result, something you cannot ethically do. Are there cases regarding abortion that you believe may come before the United States Supreme Court?

ALITO: There's a case involving abortion before the court this term, and they come up with some regularity. Most of them involve the application of Roe or the application of other precedents that build on Roe.

KYL: I would defend your right to decline to say in advance how you would rule on matters that could come before you. Perhaps you could tell us the reason for the rule.

ALITO: To my mind, the most important reason is that to do that would undermine the entire judicial decision-making process. If a judge announced what he or she thought about the ultimate legal issue, [the entire case] would be rendered meaningless.

Source: Sam Alito Senate Confirmation Hearings Jan 11, 2006

The above quotations are from Samuel Alito, Senate confirmation hearings for his Supreme Court nomination, January 2006 (plus commentary). Click here for a profile of Jon Kyl.
*Jon Kyl on other issues:*
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