Judge Lewis Testifies in Support of Judge Alito’s Nomination to the Supreme Court – See LIVE Video of the Testimony

The Honorable Timothy K. Lewis, a former federal appeals court judge and co-chair of Schnader’s Appellate Practice Group, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week to testify in favor of the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court of the United States.  Judge Lewis – who served for seven years with Judge Alito on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals – appeared on a panel of sitting and former federal judges all testifying in favor of Judge Alito.  In his testimony, Judge Lewis emphasized that while he and Alito disagreed on various issues during their time together on the bench, he supported his nomination to the Supreme Court because he believed Judge Alito to be intellectually honest, hard working and respectful of both individuals and of ideas.  He noted, “I am here as a matter of principle and as a matter of my own commitment to justice, to fairness, and my sense that Sam Alito is uniformly qualified in all-important respects to serve as a justice on the United States Supreme Court.” 

Click here to watch Judge Lewis’ appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee (Judge Lewis’ testimony begins at approximately 1:46). For a full written transcript of the hearing, please click here.

News of Judge Lewis’ testimony at the hearings was reported widely, including in the January 13, 2006 editions of The Seattle Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. In another January 13 article, “Alito’s Way,” in The Legal Intelligencer, Judge Lewis considered Judge Alito to be “intellectually honest” regardless of their disagreements. Judge Lewis described himself as a civil rights activist who supports Alito’s nomination because he is “uniformly qualified.” Judge Lewis was also quoted on Judge Alito in the January 8, 2006 Chicago Tribune: “Sam Alito is intellectually honest. This is what makes him a wonderful judge and also why I feel very good about his appointment to the Supreme Court.”