When Justice Alito was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice, most observers (on both sides of the aisle) assumed/feared/hoped/expected that Justice Alito would join Justice Scalia and move the Court in a more conservative direction. We maybe seeing the start of another example of the dangers of expecting too much from judicial appointees.
Law.com's article, linked above, discusses an small, but perhaps important, rift between the two Justices, with Justice Scalia refusing to join in an opinion written by Justice Alito because of the use of legislative history in the opinion, which Justice Scalia does not believe is an appropriate source for interpreting a statute.
As pointed out by Law.com, Alito could have easily appeased Justice Scalia and simply deleted the paragraph that Justice Scalia found so offensive, and there would not have been a concurring opinion. But Justice Alito chose to keep the paragraph, and the public rift between the two Justices.
Not earth shattering, and perhaps not significant, but it is always good to see the new kid on the team flex his muscle a bit.
