UW professor calls nominee "thoughtful"

According to some liberal interest groups, President Bush's latest nominee for the Supreme Court is a conservative ideologue who would restrict a woman's right to an abortion at the first opportunity.

But Clark Lombardi, a University of Washington Law School professor, says that's not the Samuel Alito he knows. Alito, a federal appellate judge, was nominated Monday to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring.

"I think Judge Alito is being painted in a way that's really not accurate," Lombardi said Wednesday.

Lombardi served as a clerk for Alito in 1999 on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a position Alito has held for 15 years. Through more than 300 written opinions, the judge reveals himself as a thoughtful, scholarly man not driven by a particular political ideology, Lombardi said.

The opinion that's drawn the most attention is a dissent Alito authored in 1991 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, upholding a Pennsylvania law requiring a woman to notify her husband before having an abortion.

To Lombardi, 37, the decision isn't a reflection of Alito's political views. The judge merely was asked to decide two things: whether the notification law was an undue burden, and whether the legislature rationally could claim it served a legitimate state interest. His thinking was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Lombardi, who describes himself as a political independent, said he and Alito didn't discuss politics, and the topic certainly didn't enter into the judge's opinions.

"He really decided each case as it came before him," Lombardi said. "It's led to results that spanned [the political] spectrum."

Mostly, Lombardi said, he was impressed by Alito's mind.

"It's clear this was an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful person who was polite and considerate. I knew I would learn a great deal from him," Lombardi said. "And I did."

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com