November 02, 2005

Ann Althouse here and here wishes to set straight Angry Bear, Daily Kos, Sen. Barbara Boxer, and lawprof Pam Karlan, all of whom she says have misrepresented Judge Alito's ruling in Chittister v. Department of Community and Economic Development. In Chittister, Alito found that sovereign immunity protects state governments from damage suits (but not from suits for forward-looking relief) under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a position the Supreme Court ultimately declined to adopt in a later case (though Justice Anthony Kennedy, in dissent, adopted Alito's position). Relevant snippet: "Anyone who tries to say that Alito is hostile to women's rights because of this decision is utterly wrong."