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

Author(s): 
Sasha A. Carbone
Page Count: 
24 pages
Media Description: 
PDF from World Arbitration and Mediation Report (WAMR) 2006 Vol. 17, No. 6
Published: 
June, 2006
Jurisdictions: 
United States
Practice Areas: 
Arbitrability,
Court Decisions,
Jurisdiction and Powers of the Courts in Matters of Arbitration Generally,
Enforcement of Arbitral Awards,
Practice & Procedure,
Discovery,
Arbitral Decisions
Author Detail: 

Sasha A. Carbone, Associate General Counsel of the American Arbitration Association

PDF199.65 KB

$40.00
Description: 
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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: