Mike Lee on Hugh Hewitt

Here is the transcript from Hugh's interview with Mike Lee. Big thanks to Radio Blogger:

Samuel Alito, according to Michael Lee, one of his clerks.

HH: I've said often that nobody knows judges like their clerks. I believe that to be true. And joining me now from Utah, Michael Lee, who is general counsel to the Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah. He's a graduate of BYU in 1994, he was the president of the BYU student body, by the way. He is also graduated from BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1997, went on to clerk first for Judge Dee Benson of the U.S. District court, and then for Judge Samuel Alito on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Personal note, I knew Mike's father. Rex Lee was the solicitor general of the United States when I was a special assistant to the attorney general of the United States. A great and good man. Mike Lee, welcome to the Hugh Hewitt show.

ML: Thank you.

HH: By the way, I gave the Reuben Clark lecture in 1997. I don't suppose you were there and just skipped that?

ML: You know, I don't believe I was. I must have been out that day. But I'm sure I would have been on the edge of my seat if I had been.

HH: I'm sure. Most people were nodding off, but it was on the establishment clause. More on that later. Mike Lee, tell us about the judge for whom you worked eight years ago, Judge Samuel Alito.

ML: He's just a outstanding human being, and I feel very privileged to have any association with him, and especially privileged to have served as his law clerk. This is a man who has no hubris. There is no ego to trip over for Sam Alito. He is all about the process, and all about the law, and decides each case on the basis of facts and law before him, and that's it.

HH: From the term that you served with him, Mike Lee, did you recall any of the decisions which may have been discussed right now? Are any of your decisions that you worked on for him currently the subject of much of the conversation?

ML: Well, the fraternal order of the police case, the case involving the beards, the religious exception for the beards, was a decision that was handed down that year, and that was exciting. I was happy to have been involved in some extent on that. It was a lot of fun.

HH: Well, then, use that one to illustrate for us how the judge approaches a tough case, because then we can go look it up. I mean, going into oral argument, what do you give him, how did he approach it, how long did it take to get a decision out?

ML: Well, there was a policy in place at the time that prohibited police officers from wearing beards. And there was a medical exception allowed for certain circumstances, and the judge said that consistent with principles of free exercise of religion, so long as the police department was going to allow a limited purpose exception for health related reasons, in all fairness, the police department would also have to recognize a similar exception for religious belief type purposes, and so that was the basis of the decision. I don't remember how long it was from oral argument to the issuance of the decision on that one. That was argued in the prior term, before I got there as a law clerk, but it probably wasn't more than a few months between argument and...

HH: Did he have a reputation of prompt issuance of opinions?

ML: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he definitely was not slow. He wasn't unreasonably fast. You don't want rushed justice, but he was not one to delay indefinitely the issuance of opinions. Internally, we always tried to get the opinions out within...we tried to keep it within three months of oral argument, which as an appellate advocate, an appellate litigator, I can tell you that's a pretty good turnaround.

HH: Yes, it is. Now Mike Lee, the judge was accompanied today by his wife, Martha, his two kids, Phil and Laura. Clerks actually get to know the families in many instances. What can you tell us about Martha Alito?

ML: Oh, she's just fantastic. She's a delightful, vivacious, bubbly personality, that is a delight for anyone to know. They compliment each other very well. Judge Alito has a somewhat reserved personality. He's an extraordinarily likable individual, but he's reserved, and he's a little bit more quiet. And she is the ying to the yang that her husband is. She is as bubbly, vivacious and outgoing and effervescent as he is at times reserved.

HH: Have you met his mother, Rose, whom the president referred to today?

ML: Yes, I've met her. Don't know her well, but nice lady.

HH: And the bio I've seen someplace says he's a Phillies fan, which is actually, maybe an occasion for filibuster.

ML: He's a huge Phillies fan, and if that's a basis for a filibuster, then he would have to watch out.

HH: Because they took Thome from the Indians. That's why I'm upset about that. But is he an Eagles fan, too?

ML: Yes, he is. Not quite as much of an Eagles fan as he is a Phillies fan, though.

HH: What else, just on the personal side...what are his hobbies? Is he an athlete of any sort?

ML: Well, he's very into sports. He follows sports, especially baseball. His wife, Martha, is a referee. She occasionally referees soccer games, youth soccer games. And the judge would go and watch as she would referee these youth soccer games. I always thought that was nice. He has a dog named Zeus, very good-looking dog, springer spaniel as I recall. They brought Zeus into chambers when he was just a puppy. He was running all over the place wreaking havoc on this ordinarily austere chambers, with law clerks that very obviously looked like they didn't get out much. And so it was a real treat to have Zeus visit the chambers.

HH: Now the reason I ask these questions is because I think they go to whether or not a personality is grounded and stable and thus not very capable of quote growing, once it comes to Washington, D.C., evolving into something that wasn't expected. What are the chanced, do you think, of Judge Alito quote growing to the left?

ML: Growing to the left...well, let me answer it this way. If what you're asking is, is this someone who will become intoxicated with his own power, his own authority once on the Court, I think the answer is clearly no. As I mentioned earlier, this is someone who absolutely is incapable, as far as I can tell, of tripping over his own ego, or becoming drunken with the wine of his own power. And so, that is not a concern to me.

HH: What I'm really referring to is does he have indifference to the blandishment of the legal elite, which is too often pretty hard left? You know, the summers in Switzerland, the visiting summer professorships at Harvard, that kind of stuff.

ML: Yeah, well, I certainly wouldn't put him in that category. He's a man of relatively simple interests, and I certainly wouldn't put him into the category of an elite individual who spends his summers in Switzerland or anything like that.

HH: Practicing Catholic, isn't he, Mike?

ML: Yes.

HH: That makes for the first time in American history a majority of members of the United States Supreme Court, if he is confirmed, as practicing Catholic. I don't think that matters one way or another. It's just sort of an interesting footnote. Tell us about his family history, because I'm just amazed that the son of an immigrant is going onto the SCOTUS, if all goes well. Did you ever learn how that story unfolded?

ML: You know, I was just trying to remember that, and it's an interesting question. I don't know that much more than what has already been reported in the press, that is that he is the first generation in his family born in the United States. His father emigrated from Italy in 1914.

HH: How did he get to Princeton? That's what...he must have been just a knock your socks off high school student.

ML: Yeah, well, he's just an exceptionally bright person, and very serious about he does. He doesn't mess around. He doesn't waste time as a judge, and I'm sure he didn't waste time even as a kid in high school. He was very into his studies.

HH: Now, he obviously spent some time working for your dad, when your dad was the solicitor general to the United States. I was a special assistant to Bill Smith then. Did you have any recollection of your dad talking about him at all?

ML: You know, I wish I could answer that question in the affirmative, but I just don't, until years later. Shortly before my dad died, I heard him talk about Judge Alito, and the interesting thing is, I'm pretty sure I met him when I was a little kid, when I would frequently go in and visit the solicitor general's office. It was one of my favorite places to go.

HH: That's a great...the fifth floor of Justice. There are very few places like it.

ML: Yeah. It was a lot of fun. So, I am absolutely certain that we had met. And when I clerked for him, he confirmed the fact that we had met when I was a kid. But you remember different thing when you're a child than when you do when you're an adult. And so...

HH: Well, Mike, I appreciate you're taking the time to fill in the picture here a little bit. I look forward to checking back with you if you can spare more time from Governor Huntsman's office.

End of interview.

Posted at 9:20PM PST