A compilation on the op-ed page of comments from columnists and local experts regarding the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge Samuel Alito includes observations by WSU law professor Robert Sedler. "He (Alito) would not protect freedom of choice, privacy and other personal rights," Sedler writes. He adds that "the likely confirmation of a predictable conservative voice like Alito's will pressure Chief Justice John Roberts to balance off Alito's views, since Roberts is concerned about the court as an institution."