WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court's newest justice cast his
first vote Wednesday, then was sworn in ceremonially at the White
House.
In his first vote, Samuel Alito joined the eight other justices
in rejecting Missouri's effort to immediately end a stay of
execution for convicted killer Michael Taylor.
The move had little practical effect, because the stay was
already set to expire Wednesday afternoon. Further appeals in the
case are pending.
Less than an hour after the decision was announced, Alito was at
the White House for a ceremonial swearing-in for the cameras.
(Watch as
Alito becomes Justice Alito -- 7:52)
The justice said he was "overwhelmed by the occasion."
He added, "I simply pledge to do everything in my power to live
up to the trust placed in me."
President Bush said he is confident his nominee "will make a
superb justice on the United States Supreme Court."
Six justices attend ceremony
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath, witnessed by
Justices Antonin Scalia, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader
Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.
Others attending included Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and
White House counsel Harriet Miers, who was originally tapped by
Bush to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Miers withdrew after criticism from conservatives over her
judicial credentials, and went on to help in the Alito selection
process. Alito thanked her during the ceremony.
Tuesday also was a whirlwind of activity for the 55-year-old
jurist: a 58-42 confirmation vote; a private, official swearing-in
at the Supreme Court; an appearance at President Bush's State of
the Union address ; and the initial demands of the court's
never-ending caseload.
In his first official legal business as an associate justice,
Alito backed out of participating in two emergency applications
from inmates facing execution in Texas and Florida.
Alito will spend the next few days moving into O'Connor's former
office and hiring a staff, including law clerks. The court is in
the middle of a four-week recess, and oral arguments do not resume
until February 21.
Key cases ahead
In coming weeks, the former federal appeals court judge and the
other justices will have several important appeals and cases
awaiting them:
- A request from the Bush administration over a federal ban on a
late-term abortion procedure that critics call "partial birth."
Several federal courts have struck down the law as unconstitutional
and have blocked it from going into effect.
- A request to review a case testing the president's power to
hold U.S. citizens as "enemy combatants" in a wartime setting.
Until recently, terrorism suspect Jose Padilla was held in military
custody without charges.
- Oral arguments in several high-profile cases, including
congressional redistricting in Texas, the rights of suspected
terrorists held overseas facing U.S. military tribunals,
restriction of development near environmentally sensitive wetlands
and the use of lethal injection for death-row inmates.
-
Alito joins the court in midterm. The court already has heard
arguments and issued rulings in a number of cases, creating
potential problems. If there is a deadlock in pending cases, Alito
may be asked to break the tie, or the cases could be reheard with
him in the fall.
The Senate confirmed Alito Tuesday on a mostly partisan vote
after weeks of criticism over his judicial record by Democrats and
liberal interest groups. A last-minute attempt by several senators
to delay a final vote failed to materialize. (Full story)
Private ceremony Tuesday
Bush nominated him October 31 to fill the vacancy when O'Connor
announced she would step down. She and several other justices,
including Stephen Breyer, were on hand after Tuesday's vote when
Alito took the constitutional and judicial oaths in a private
ceremony in the court's conference room.
Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Alito, allowing him to begin
his work immediately as a member of the Supreme Court. Alito's
wife, Martha-Ann, also attended.
Wearing their judicial robes, Breyer and Justice Clarence Thomas
joined Roberts and Alito at the president's address Tuesday
night.
Bush drew applause when he praised the court's newest justices:
"The Supreme Court now has two superb new members, Chief Justice
John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito. I thank the Senate for
confirming both of them. And I will continue to nominate men and
women who understand that judges must be servants of the law and
not legislate from the bench." (Full story)
On Wednesday, the high court announced new circuit assignments
for the justices. Each is assigned at least one of 13 areas of the
country and federal government where emergency applications and
other appeals originate.
Alito will hear such cases from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, which includes North and South Dakota, Nebraska,
Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas. He most recently was a
judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit of Appeals, based in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, but Justice David Souter will continue to have
control over that area.
Alito will sit on the far right of the bench during oral
arguments, the traditional spot for the junior justice. His
neighbor will be Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a member of the high
court since 1993.