January 31, 2006 | Sex & Society

Alito sworn in

Justice has a new face this week, and it happens to be both white and male. Its name is Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and he was inducted into the U.S. Supreme Court as an Associate Justice Tuesday, after months of political debate over his confirmation.

Alito replaces retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has proven herself to be a decisive vote on many issues that have divided the court over the last several decades, including abortion, free speech and privacy. He was confirmed as the nation's 110th Justice in the U.S. Senate Tuesday by a vote of 58 to 42, the closest margin since the 1991 nomination of Clarence Thomas, according to the Washington Post.

Alito was sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., who President Bush named to the Supreme Court late last year. Together, the Justices represent a huge victory for U.S. Conservatives, who hope to skew the court to the right after 11 years without a vacancy in its ranks. In fact, the confirmation was one of the most partisan victories in recent history, according to the Associated Press, which adds that all but one Republican in the Senate voted for Alito while all but four Democrats voted against him.

Legal analysts insist that Alito's record indicates a decidedly more conservative approach to judicial law than that of his predecessor, and as a result Liberal activists are worrying about the future of such landmark decisions as Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion.

Alito, however, insists that he will approach the law with an open mind.

"I am who I am. I'm my own person," Alito said at his confirmation hearing, according to the AP. "I'm not like any other justice on the Supreme Court now or anybody else who served on the Supreme Court in the past."

We'll see, Sammy. Don't disappoint!

• Alito sworn in as Supreme Court Justice [Washington Post]
• Alito is sworn in as Associate Justice [Yahoo! News - AP]
• Alito becomes Supreme Court Justice [gay.com]
• Analysis: the Alito problem [AVN]