samuel alito is from trenton, new jersey. there will be a little bit of mixing it up from the bench. this is where they will begin the process of reaching the decisions. the goal of a round after the chief justice has set up the case. this is what we are front to decide. the start casting votes. the someone is not ready to vote, they can wait, but typically it is up to the ninth justice to have their say and then once every justice has been able to speak, there may be give and take care that is what they do for every case. also, they go through this see if there is a discussion to be made for a case on appeal to decide whether to take the case. it is a very serious business. they start with a little coffee and pastry. then they tell that they keep carryin. they do that before the holder conference. justice o'connor said she loved the idea of shaking hands with a colleague and having that human contact before they were about to disagree vigorously. then they go back to their chambers and every conversation they have is done in

now we continue with justice samuel alito.his 30-minute interview, he talks about the role of the court and his day-to-day duties. he was nominated to the court by president bush. >> former chief justice had died determine the fallen created a vacancy. this was on january 31, 2006. i was immediately brought over here to the court and sworn in by the chief justice and they showed me to my office. that very day, i received a very difficult application for a stay of execution in a capital case. i was thrown right into the heart of the court's work. >> what happens when you get something like that? do you have to operate on your own? >> i was operating on my own. i was operating entirely on my own. i did not even have a staff of the time. >> so what do you do in that case? >> i did what i had been doing for 15 years as a court of appeals judge. i city the case and came to my conclusions about what i thought we should do -- i studied the case and came to my conclusions about what i thought we should do. >> [unintelligible] for me,

questions and comments and later tonight, interviews with supreme court justice anthony kennedy and samuel alito u.s. should respond to the latest attempted terrorist attack on board a northwest airlines flight with a representative from the heritage foundation. then we will talk about infectious diseases with an update on

tuesday, justice anthony kennedy and justice samuel alito. interviews with supreme court justices on c-span. get your own copy on dvd. it is part of the american icons collection. 83 disc set, one of many items available at c-span.org/store. a rare glimpse into america's highest court with conversations with can supreme court justices. -- tan supreme court justices. -- tan the supreme court justices. --10 supreme court justices. now, a conversation with john paul stevens. >> justice stevens, what part of your chambers are be in right now? >> you were in the office of two of my law clerks. i come in a lot and learn about the law from them. >> how many law clerks do you have? four, and two others are upstairs. >> you are the only person left on the supreme court that served with warren burger -- berger. that was taken in the conference room. >> what is the difference between the court did and the court now? >> -- the court and then and the court now -- the core then and the court now -- the court then and the court now. it is determined by how

next, a conversation with samuel alito who joined the supreme court in 2006. in this 30 minute interview, he talks about the role of the court in his day-to-day duties. justice alito was nominated to the court by president bush. >> justice samuel alito, can you remember the first day that you came to this court? >> i will never forget it. i watch the votes in the senate over in the old executive office building, right in the middle of the court term. because the former chief justice rehnquist had died during the fall, creating a vacancy. this was on january 31, 2006. i watched the vote over in the old executive office building. and i immediately was brought over here to the court and sworn in by the chief justice, and they showed me to my office, and i think that very day i received a very difficult application for a stay of execution in a capital case. i was blown right into the heart of the court's work. >> what happens when you get something like that? do you have to operate on your run in as -- on your own in that case? >> i was operating entirely on my ow

john roberts and samuel alito.justice marshall said being solicitor general was the best job he ever hadñr, and he had se good jobs. i hope we learn this evening if our panel agrees with justice marshall's statement. let me begin by asking the most recent occupant to briefly explain the job of solicitor general, and if possible, describe what an average day is like in the life of the solicitor general? >> there probably is not an average day, and that is part of what makes the job so interesting and fascinating. the basic responsibility, in a nutshell, i think, is probably to start with the most public role of the solicitor devereaux, and that is his representation of the united states of america, which most often means the executive branch, but his representation before the supreme court of the united states. and i would think that one way of capturing the job is that the solicitor general in many ways sits at crossroads of the separation of powers, at the court, defending constitutionality of an act of congress o

samuel alito is from trenton, new jersey. we just wonder if we will have a little more mixing it up from the bench with the introduction of justice sotomayor. >> that go around by order of seniority after the chief justice has set up the case. this is what we are are to decide, here is the question. then they start casting votes, starting with the chief justice. if someone is not ready to cast a vote, he or she can wait, but typically it is up to the final justice to have his say, and then once every justice has been able to speak, they might have some give-and-take among the others. that is what they do for every case as it has been argued earlier in the week. also they go through on seniority if there is discussion to be had for a case that might be up there on a petition or appeal, and they decide whether to take the case and schedule it for oral argument. no secretaries or law clerks are allowed in the room, just the nine justices. before they start, they start out with a little coffee and pastries. they all shake hands,

the difference is the trade of sandra o'connor for samuel alito. that is the only difference on that. in a very famous case that everyone in legal education, in 2003, the court had a michigan affirmative action case, bruder versus bollinger and the university of michigan law school had a very aggressive affirmative action program that looked at least to my law school is like tempers send a deborah class should be class-- and it should happen here and in your out. they didn't get it perfectly every time but i don't think it was forewarned of trying in the numbers are just so close every year. would michigan argued was they used the holistic approach. it didn't look just at grades, adjusted gpa but everything in my guess is the everything turned very nicely on hispanic surnames and perhaps being a member of the thurgood marshall society, some helpful extracurricular activity. it looked like the thing to virtually all observers that the michigan program was going to be held unconstitutional by a 5-4 vote. that was consistent with the majority on that,

tonight we talk withñr justices anthony kennedy and samuel alito çthat discuss how the supreme courtrks, their role in decisions. interviews with supreme court justices all this week at 8:00 p.m. here on c-span3 for more information, go to c-span.org /supreme court. you will find a virtual tour of the building, a photo gallery on its construction, as well as interviews with the justices. tonight on c-span2, notable books of 2009, as listed by a number of publications. tonight, but tv features ron paul and the end of the fed. from david wessel, "in said we trust co that is at 8:00 eastern. >> c-span thursday, a look back and tributes paid to u.s. and world leaders, including the dolly llama, ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walterç cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrd. then, newç year's day, a look ahead to the new year. vladimir putin discusses his future from his annual call-in program. presidential adviser ostend rules be on the economy. the creator of the segue, and guitar hero on of entrepreneurship. >> fox news contributor michelle malkin is our guest this week on "in depth," th

samuel alito is from trended jersey. you wonder if you can have an east coast hang with the addition of joe's -- the justice. >> is in this room where there will gather 48-72 hours after hearing oral argument in the as they began looking at the court. >> this is that this is what their corn to decide. and the start casting votes. the start with the chief justice. typically, it is of to the ninth justice to have his say and then once every justice has been able to speak, they may have some give-and-take among the others. also, they go in order of seniority. even though it is very serious business, there are no secretaries or law clerks. it is just the nine justices. before the start, they do a couple things. justice o'connor used to say that she just loved the idea of having a human contact before they were about to disagree vigorously. after they meet in conference, carried by messenger fromthe justice wants to make fellow justice about he or she might be prepared to rule, or changes suggested in language, the justice ri

john roberts and samuel alito.e best job he ever hadñr, and he had se good jobs. i hope we learn this evening if our panel agrees with justice marshall's statement. let me begin by asking the most recent occupant to briefly explain the job of solicitor general, and if possible, describe what an average day is like in the life of the solicitor general? >> there probably is not an average day, and that is part of what makes the job so interesting and fascinating. the basic responsibility, in a nutshell, i think, is probably to start with the most public role of the solicitor devereaux, and that is his representation of the united states of america, which most often means the executive branch, but his representation before the supreme court of the united states. and i would think that one way of capturing the job is that the solicitor general in many ways sits at crossroads of the separation of powers, at the court, defending constitutionality of an act of congress or some executive branch policy, and you really see t

tuesday, associate justices anthony kennedy and samuel alito. interviews with supreme court justices, 8:00 p.m. eastern, on c-span. get your own copy of our original documentary on the supreme court on dvd. it is part of the american icons collection, including programs on the white house and the capitol building 31 of many items available at c-span.org /store. the birt>> next, remarks from sl financial journal since -- journalist. this is an hour and 15 minutes. >> has the financial crisis changed economic news? we are familiar with the saying that while the press cannot tell people what to think, it certainly can tell them what to think about. we have heard a great deal in recent months and weeks about the subject of debt and deficits. thus, the conference. i am standing here tonight in this historic, a splendid building and wonder what some of the founders of the republic might have thought about the subject of our discussion today and tomorrow. how do we govern through debt and deficits? in fact, most of them had some acquaintance with the s

bush's appointments of samuel roberts and alito has gone from this long active to center speaking only to his acolytes beyond the marble walls to someone who's now in the majority and is likely to stay in the majority for a while, since as you know the justices most likely to retire in upcoming years are the liberals. >> host: i congratulate you for a wonderful book and i encourage everybody to read it. i have i told you for copies of it. i hope to have a lot more. >> guest: thank you very much. >>> biographer harlow unger recounts the life of james monroe the fifth president of the united states. president monroe served two terms, was a decorative in the world war and held more public positions than anyone in history. harlow unger reclaimed says james mur's political career at marlowe's books in new york city. this is 50 minutes. [applause] >> thank you very much. i'm honored to be here tonight and one to thank my publisher and person is books. my thanks to c-span television and borders bookstore, a landmark here at 57th street and park avenue in new york city. i am particularly honor

tonight, associate justices anthony kennedy and samuel alito.ur own copy of our original documentary on the supreme court on dvd. as part of our american icons collection, a three-disc set, including programs on the white house and the capitol building. it is available at c-span.org. >> a number of publications have listed their best books of the past year. booktv looks at a number of them. ted knight offers one paul, david wessel, and linda gordon. you can see a full list on our web site in the news about books section. >> c-span, thursday, a look at tributes paid to u.s. and world leaders, including ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell, and robert byrd. new year's day -- all look at what is ahead for the new year. russian president -- russian prime minister vladimir putin talks about his future. presidential lead pfizer on the global economy. the creator of the segway and guitar hero. plus the art of political cartooning. >> fox news contributor michelle malkin is our guest this weekend on "in doubt." the author of four bo

served in the office of the solicitor general, chief justice john roberts and associate justice samuel alito. now, justice marshall said that being solicitor general was, quote, the best job he ever had, and he had some good jobs. i hope we'll learn this evening if our panel agrees with justice marshall's statement. gentlemen, let me begin by asking paul as the most recent occupant of the office of the solicitor general to briefly explain the job of the solicitor general in today's justice department, and if it's possible to do so, to describe what an average day is like in the life of the solicitor general. >> well, i'd be happy to try, ken. i think as to the average day in the life of the solicitor general, there probably isn't an average day, and that's part of what makes the job so interesting and so fascinating. the job's basic responsibility in a nutshell, i think, is to probably start with the most public role of the solicitor general, and that is his representation of the united states of america which most often means the executive branch of the united states, but its representation

samuel paulino. justice kennedy was on the court for 20 years and talks about the process in reaching a decision. alitole of the junior justice which he recently handed over to justice sonia sotomayor. see those interviews at 8:00 eastern on c-span. tonight, look at the best books of 2009. several news organizations have published their lists and we will look at books written by republican congressman ron paul and linda gordon beginning at 8:00 p.m. on c-span2. to view the best of list visit booktv.org. >> c-span thursday, tributes paid to u.s. and world leaders including the dalai lama, ted kennedy, ronald reagan, walter cronkite, colin powell and robert byrd. then a look at what is ahead for the new year. vladimir putin discusses his future from his annual call in program. and the global economy. the creator of the segway and co-founder of guitar hero on a entrepreneurship and the art of political cartooning. >> michele malcolm is our guest on booktv's index. the author of four books including the best selling culture of corruption, takes your calls. three hours with michele malcolm on booktv. part o

the soucy justice, samuel alito both appointees of george w. bush but they certainly have given him votes that he didn't have 21st art it out. justice john paul stevens who is likely to be our next retired justice who is going to turn 90 in april but is so sharp, it will be a real loss to the nation when he does leave. he is quite active still let the court. he said to me, that he really admire scalia forest bashum, what he has been able to to to the law but one point in one of our conversations he said, some of it has been destructive. as many of the you know thubron the opposite sides of bush v. gore. justice scalia voting for richard george w. bush and justice stevens riding a strong dissent on behalf of the arguments from then vice president al gore. finally i will mention one other colleague of his and that is justice thomas to a lot of people say what is he really like? he does not talking dahlen korte. but i have to say he is quite talkative. he is quite open both for the o'connor bookend the justice scalia book was quite generous with t