Washington, DC – Moments ago Samuel Alito, Jr. was confirmed by the Senate 58-42 as the 110th Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He will be officially sworn in today. His ceremonial swearing in will be tomorrow at 4:00 pm. In his first official event, Judge Alito, now Justice Alito, will attend tonight’s State of the Union address with Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Supreme Court convenes again on February 17 with the Justices in conference. Justice Alito will begin hearing oral arguments on February 21. The next major case will be the campaign finance argument on February 28. On the same day, he will hear the probate case of Anna Nicole Smith.

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated: “We are thrilled that Justice Samuel Alito is now a permanent member of the United States Supreme Court. We applaud President Bush for keeping his campaign promise to appoint Justices who respect the Constitution and who will interpret the law, not legislate from the bench. Justice Alito is such a Justice. Justice Alito respects the rule of law. The Supreme Court is finally headed in the right direction. Now we believe that the Supreme Court can lead by example and once again regain the respect that is due our Third Branch of government. When the High Court issues decisions based purely on ideology, using international law or subjective sociological perceptions, it loses the respect of lower court judges, and most importantly, it loses the respect of the American people. ”