Susan Sullivan is at Philadelphia InquirerThe headline read, “I am a law clerk for Judge Alito. He must recuse himself from hearing cases involving Donald Trump.” The subtitle read, “Flying the American flag upside down, once a signal for help, is now a sign of those rejecting the results of the 2020 presidential election.” When Alito did that, it was really a cry for help.”
This column does not introduce anything new or original. she quoted New York Times Report it as gospel and talk about it in paragraphs Dobbs, has nothing to do with the logo. Let’s be clear. this only Sullivan published the op-ed because she is a former law clerk to Justice Alito. The only thing the media likes more than a conservative who criticizes conservatives is a person who works for conservatives who criticizes her former conservative boss. Just look at the endless stream of former people who attack Trump in Trump’s world.
Who is Susan Sullivan? I’ve never heard of her. She is an assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University. She teaches courses on criminal procedure, constitutional law, and the Supreme Court. Her biography includes the following:
Professor Sullivan graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in 1990 and received the Order of the Coif. Litigation lawyers practice law.
She couldn’t even bring herself to say the name Samuel Alito in her biography. Say his name! She was willing to take credit for the clerkship, but then threw her boss under the bus.
She describes herself in the book like this inquirer:
As a former law clerk to Judge Samuel Alito, Jr., I often admired his integrity and honesty. However, as a progressive liberal, I strongly disagree with the way he reads the Constitution, the narrow interpretation he adopts, and his deference to the “restrictive intent” of the Framers.
Is it normal to say that you “often” admire the judges you serve on? When did you not?
Professor Sullivan has a special connection to Justice Alito and abortion. She graduated from Rutgers University in 1990 and began clerking for the Third Circuit in the fall of 1990 and concluded in the summer of 1991. Planned Parenthood v. Casey The case was argued in the Third Circuit in February 1991, while Sullivan was clerking. Justice Alito at the time was known to uphold the spousal notification privilege that the Casey majority found unconstitutional.
In 2006, when Alito was nominated, Sullivan offered some veiled praise for Alito:
Susan Sullivan of San Francisco clerked the year Alito wrote the controversial Casey opinion, upholding portions of Pennsylvania’s statute restricting abortion, a decision that was later overturned by the Supreme Court. Sullivan, who describes herself as a “pro-choice and anti-death penalty social progressive,” said: “In general, I would be skeptical of any nominee in this administration. But having worked with him, I know He doesn’t intend to advance his own agenda in a very impartial manner.
In fact, Sullivan met her husband, Jim Gonea, while clerking for Judge Alito.
Jim Goneia and Susan Sullivan met while clerking for Justice Alito in 1990-91. They are now married and have two children. Their 9-year-old son said: “I love Judge Alito. Without him, I wouldn’t exist.”
Jim and Susan both describe themselves as “social progressives,” and they are both “pro-life.” But they stood firmly behind Judge Alito. It’s not just because of their son’s presence, which is probably a good reason. . . .
They both worked with Alito during the Casey trial. Susan responded that if Roe was overturned, she would feel the same way she felt when she read Alito’s dissent in Casey: she disagreed, but she respected the process he went through to reach his decision. .
She added that in the Third Circuit, Judge Alito both affirmed and applied Roe. . . So she doesn’t believe anyone knows how he would rule in specific cases. The fact that he writes opinions that are popular with some and makes decisions that are popular with others demonstrates his impartiality.
But things have changed. The clerk’s reunion would be a bit awkward.
There’s a reason conservative judges in particular have to screen out law clerks—progressive students will accept the job and prestige and then go on to attack their former bosses for media plaudits.
