For Immediate Release:
December 20, 2005

CONTACT:
David Willett, 202-675-6698


   ALITO CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO PROTECT AMERICA'S WATER, AIR and WILDLIFE
       Sierra Club Opposes first Supreme Court Nomination since Bork
        Statement of David Bookbinder, Sierra Club Senior Attorney


"In the first such move since the Bork nomination of 1987, the Sierra Club
today joins with other national environmental groups to urge Senators to
oppose the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Americans deserve mainstream, independent Justices, with unassailable
integrity, who will protect individual rights and freedoms.  Unfortunately,
Judge Alito's opinions and other statements, combined with a disturbing
lack of candor since being nominated, show that Judge Alito cannot be
trusted to protect those rights and freedoms.  The more one learns about
his positions, the clearer it is that he's the wrong choice to replace
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Court.

"Sierra Club's opposition to Judge Alito's confirmation rests on his
Constitutional philosophy as expressed in opinions that threaten both the
ability of Congress to pass laws to protect the environment, and the
ability of citizens to enforce those laws.
"In U.S. v. Rybar, Judge Alito dissented from a decision upholding
Congress' power under the Commerce Clause to regulate possession of machine
guns.  Coming after six other federal appeals courts had upheld the same
law, his reasoning is extremely troubling.  This is not an abstract
Constitutional issue; if confirmed, Judge Alito would be ruling on two
Clean Water Act cases now pending before the Supreme Court on whether this
same Constitutional provision -- the Commerce Clause -- gives Congress the
authority to protect any of America's streams and wetlands (US v. Rapanos
and US v. Carabell).   This same philosophy could also eventually
jeopardize all of the environmental laws that protect clean air, clean
water, endangered species and more.

"Judge Alito has also ruled (in Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) v.
Magnesium Elektron) that the Constitution barred citizens from enforcing
the Clean Water Act even against a company that admitted it had been
violating the law for years.  The Magnesium Elektron decision threatened to
effectively put a stop to most Clean Water Act enforcement. Fortunately,
the Supreme Court effectively reversed this decision three years later in
another case.

"Sierra Club, in coordination with our fellow environmental groups and the
Coalition for a Fair & Independent Judiciary, will be mobilizing its
members around the country to call on their Senators to vote no on Alito's
confirmation. Senators from both political parties must take this
responsibility seriously and not be a rubber stamp for the President's
choice."

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David Willett
National Press Secretary
Sierra Club
(202) 675-6698 (w)
(202) 491-6919 (m)
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www.sierraclub.org