Alito Develops a Pro-Business Record
The court’s newest justice has voted for business interests at nearly every opportunity in a term that saw fortunes rise for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is winning plaudits from Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the business group’s National Chamber Litigation Center, Tony Mauro reports for Legal Times.
Most notable is Alito’s May 29 opinion enforcing a 180-day filing deadline in pay discrimination suits based on Title VII. The decision is Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
Alito’s pro-business tilt is not surprising given his earlier record on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Mark Levy, chair of Kilpatrick Stockton’s appellate practice, told Legal Times that Alito’s Ledbetter opinion is driven by the words of the governing statute.
“Sam is someone who likes order, likes having rules,” he says.
There were many other pro-business rulings as well. Conrad told Mauro the chamber filed briefs on the merits in 16 cases and won 13.
“We’ve been representing the business community before the Supreme Court for 30 years,” Conrad says. “And this is our strongest showing since the inception” of the National Chamber Litigation Center.
