Alito thank-you note to Religious Right

Dobson says Alito sent thank-you note for backing his nomination

By COLLEEN SLEVIN, Associated Press Writer
March 1, 2006

DENVER - Focus on the Family founder James Dobson said Wednesday that new Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sent him a letter thanking him and his radio listeners for their support during his confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate.

Alito wrote that "the prayers of so many people from around the country were a palpable and powerful force. As long as I serve on the Supreme Court I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me," Dobson said on his radio broadcast.

Dobson is an opponent of abortion and his conservative Christian ministry, based in Colorado Springs, says his radio show and its other broadcasts and publications reach more than 200 million people worldwide.

A Supreme Court spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

David Yalof, a political science professor at the University of Connecticut and the author of a book on Supreme Court vacancies, said Alito's letter did not appear to violate ethical standards.

"I think it's a very carefully worded letter and I don't think any of it crosses the line," he said. "As long as Alito didn't (say) there is any obligation or debt owed, I don't think it is a violation of judicial canon."

Americans United for Separation of Church and State called the letter "grossly inappropriate."

"This note strongly suggests that Alito is carrying out a right-wing agenda instead of being a justice for all," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the group, which describes itself as a watchdog on church-state separation and religious freedom.

Dobson had urged his listeners to support the nominations of Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. On Wednesday, he said that support had "affected history" by helping put Alito and Roberts on the court in time to hear a pending case on an abortion procedure that opponents call partial-birth abortion.

The Senate confirmed Roberts by 78-22 in September and Alito by 58-42 in January.

"The people listening to us out there helped to make this happen. They responded, they called," Dobson said.

Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian ministry based in Colorado Springs, says Dobson's show, its other broadcasts and its publications reach more than 200 million people worldwide.

Focus on the Family declined to release a copy of the letter but confirmed the wording read by Dobson.