Alito may impact Oregon case

WASHINGTON — As Samuel Alito heads toward likely Senate confirmation as a Supreme Court justice, supporters and opponents of Oregon's landmark assisted-suicide law look for clues for how he might affect the high court's decision on whether the law will stand.

Advocates for the assisted-suicide law were hopeful that a ruling would be announced in the next two weeks — before Alito could join the nine-member court if confirmed. Under that scenario, retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor could provide the decisive vote to uphold the law allowing dying patients to obtain lethal doses of medication from their doctors.

However, a prominent opponent of the law called it more likely that O'Connor would be gone before the court handed down a decision. Then, if the case ended up in a 4-4 tie, new arguments would be heard with Alito on the court.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee had hoped for a Jan. 17 committee vote on Alito, but Democrats can delay that for a week. The full Senate would vote after that.

The Supreme Court heard the assisted-suicide case last October — the first major oral argument under Chief Justice John Roberts — and justices appeared to be closely divided.

Even so, advocates for the law were hoping for a quick decision.

"Our view has always been, in the cause of judicial economy, it would be better if the court did not have to rehear" the case, said Barbara Coombs Lee, co-president of the assisted-suicide advocacy group Compassion & Choices.

Lee said it appeared during oral arguments that O'Connor had a substantial interest in the case.

"She was the first with the questions, she related it back to (other) cases, so it seems to us that she is interested in addressing the issues raised by the case," Lee said Friday.

But Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the conservative American Center for Law and Justice, which opposes the Oregon law, cautioned that even if the case is reheard, the outcome remains far from certain. While Alito is generally considered more conservative than O'Connor, his views on assisted suicide are not well known.

During his confirmation hearings, Alito expressed views that both sides called encouraging.