A Review of Justice Alito's Arbitration-Related Decisions - WAMR 2006 Vol. 17, No. 6

Originally from: World Arbitration and Mediation Report (WAMR) 2006 Vol. 17, No. 6 Preview Page Comment A Review of Justice Alito’s Arbitration-Related Decisions by Sasha A. Carbone∗ I. Introduction Prior to his appointment, Justice Alito served for approximately sixteen years as a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Justice Alito’s record while on that court provides us with some insight into his judicial philosophy toward arbitration. This comment does not attempt to predict Justice Alito’s future decisionmaking on arbitration issues, rather it merely provides a historical roadmap of the positions that he has taken while on the Third Circuit bench. Justice Alito’s decisions in the arbitration area are reflective of a conservative judicial philosophy. His approach has been primarily to follow U.S. Supreme Court and Third Circuit precedent, where applicable. His opinions generally reflect the mainstream view toward arbitration, with a high level of deference given to arbitration in general and an arbitrator’s authority. Overall, his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court is good news for supporters of alternative dispute resolution. In reviewing Justice Alito’s judicial record, I have reviewed decisions and dissents authored by Judge Alito, as well as decisions in which Judge Alito participated but did not author the opinion, in cases involving arbitration-related issues. My review does not include summary decisions issued without published opinions. The purpose of this review was to ascertain Judge Alito’s record in the area of arbitration and, to the extent possible, to give us some sense of Judge Alito’s judicial philosophy toward arbitration. Part II provides an overview of Alito’s judicial record, and Part III summarizes forty decisions in which Alito participated as a Circuit Judge of the Third Circuit involving arbitration-related issues. II. Overview of Decisions As a general matter, Alito’s record reflects that he is extremely knowledgeable about several aspects of arbitration law. As a Third Circuit judge, he has participated in over forty cases involving substantive arbitration-related issues. The forty opinions may be categorized into four substantive areas: Class Actions, Discovery, Enforcement of Arbitration Awards, and Motions to Compel/Arbitrability. The breakdown is as follows: