Samuel Alito assured Ted Kennedy of his respect for Roe v. Wade's precedent years before writing the majority opinion that overturned the landmark case: report

The precedent set by the Supreme Court was respected by Justice Alito.

In 2005, months before the Bush-appointed conservative justice was confirmed to the nation's top court, he told the late senator that.

According to Kennedy's private diary, Alito assured him that he respected the precedent set by the landmark decision that legalized abortion.

Kennedy's journal will be published in "Ted Kennedy: A Life" on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

Alito told the Democrat there was a right to privacy. I think it is over.

The 50-year precedent was upended by Alito. The majority opinion for the case was written by him. Alito had been a critic of the case before the June decision.

Alito wrote that long-held precedent doesn't compel adherence to the abuses of judicial authorities. From the beginning, it was obvious that he was wrong.

Kennedy had expected Alito's true feelings on the matter. According to Farrell, the senator was skeptical of Alito's easy answers, and during that November meeting pushed the judge on a memo he had written as a lawyer at the DOJ in 1985 which openly advertised his opposition to abortion.

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According to Kennedy's recollection, Alito told him that he didn't need to worry about the memo because he was trying to get a promotion.

Alito said that he was a young person. I have grown a lot.

Farrell's interpretation of Kennedy's diary shows that he was even more distrustful of Alito's explanation. The senator suggested in his journal that if Alito had lied to his bosses in order to get a promotion, he would go even further in hiding his true opinions.

Kennedy abstained from voting in favor of Alito's nomination.

The Supreme Court did not respond to the request for comment.

According to former aides and friends of Kennedy, the senator would have been angry over the court's conservative stance. Kennedy castigated judicial nominees who presented a front of moderation before their confirmation, only to reveal themselves as ideologues once seated on the bench.

The Supreme Court was found to be out of touch with issues related to abortion access by more than half of the people surveyed.