It's been a great honor for me to spend my career in public service.

In an era where the White House is abusing power, is excusing and authorizing torture and is spying on American citizens, I find Judge [Samuel] Alito's support for an all-powerful executive branch to be genuinely troubling.

I can still remember the day, as an assistant U.S. attorney, when I stood up in court for the first time and I proudly said, "My name is Samuel Alito and I represent the United States in this court." It was a great honor for me to have the United States as my client during all of those years.

Part of me wanted to get a graduate degree in political science. Had I done that, I suppose I would have become a college professor.

I think that the legitimacy of the court would be undermined in any case if the court made a decision based on its perception of public opinion.

I have been a judge for 15 years and I've made up my own mind during all that time.

I had the good fortune to begin my legal career as a law clerk for a judge who really epitomized open-mindedness and fairness. He read the record in detail in every single case that came before me; he insisted on scrupulously following precedents.