Erwin Chemerinsky, the Duke law professor who I’m TAing for this semester, testified in the Alito hearings today — here’s the summary on the Washington Post’s nomination blog:

Erwin Chemerinsky, a professor at Duke University Law School, then addressed the impact on the Supreme Court of Alito replacing Sandra Day O’Connor, particularly on crucial questions of assertions of executive power.

He said he has carefully read Alito’s memos, speeches and decisions and “they all point in one direction . . . great deference to federal authority.” He cited Alito’s support, in the Solicitor General’s office, of absolute immunity for the attorney general in wiretap cases; his support, in speeches, of the “unitary executive” theory (under which presidential powers would be greatly expanded, he said).

“Over and again he comes down on the side of law enforcement,” Chemerinsky said. As have other critics, he highlighted Alito’s deference to law enforcement in the case involving the strip search of a 10-year-old girl.

Update 1/14: The New York Times published an excerpt from Chemerinsky’s testimony today (full transcript here), along with a bizarre angled picture of Chemerinsky’s image on a television:

I don’t usually make a big deal out of unflattering news photography (and I understand the point the photographer was trying to make), but that’s pretty wacky.