Harriet Miers Withdraws; President Bush Nominates Samuel Alito to Serve on Supreme Court.

Four days after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to serve on the United States Supreme Court, President Bush nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., to replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Judge Alito has been a member of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1990. From 1987 to 1990 Alito served as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.

In examining his record, there are four principal abortion-related cases. Judge Alito voted in favor of the pro-life side once and against it three times.

In Casey v. Planned Parenthood, he joined with his colleagues on the appeals court in a unanimous opinion upholding most of the pro-life 1989 Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act. Judge Alito would have gone further; he would have upheld the spousal notice provision of the act. (This was the case that the United States Supreme Court later reviewed in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.)

In two of the cases where Judge Alito voted against the pro-life side, he felt bound by the controlling Supreme Court precedent on each issue. One of these cases involved a partial-birth abortion statute. The other was a wrongful death statute that involved the question of Fourteenth Amendment personhood of the unborn child.

The third case involved Pennsylvania rape and incest reporting requirements for Medicaid-funded abortions. Judge Alito was the deciding vote against the pro-life side, basing his decision on his reading of administrative law.

Judge Alito has apparently written or said little on abortion or other right-to-life issues.

In a brief introduction from the White House, President Bush stated that Judge Alito "has a deep understanding of the proper role of judges in our society" and that "he understands that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people."

For his part, the 55-year-old Alito expressed his appreciation to the President and gratitude to his family. "Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans," he said, "and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional system."

Judge Alito also served in the administration of President Reagan. >From 1981 to 1985, he was assistant to the solicitor general. From 1985 to 1987, he was the deputy assistant attorney general.

Judge Alito attended Princeton University and received his law degree from Yale University in 1975.

In her letter of withdrawal, Ms. Miers cited the request from senators for documents from her service in the White House. "I have steadfastly maintained that the independence of the Executive Branch be preserved and its confidential documents and information not be released to further a confirmation process," she wrote.