Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court for 15 years and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.
Just one month ago we learned that prior judicial experience on a nominee’s resume was irrelevant:
And one of the most interesting ideas I heard was, why don’t you pick somebody who hasn’t been a judge? Why don’t you reach outside the — I think one senator said, the “judicial monastery.”
I thought it was an interesting idea. And I thought long and hard about it. I obviously looked at whether or not other Presidents had done — made that decision; they had. And so, recognizing that Harriet will bring not only expertise, but a fresh approach, I nominated her.
So much for the “fresh approach.”