Samuel Alito

Birth Data

Biography

American lawyer and jurist whose nomination to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush was confirmed on January 31, 2006. Alito took the oath of office that day in Washington, DC at about 12:40 PM EST according to an Associated Press report in the Washington Post.

Known for his conservative views on social and cultural issues and his belief in the power of the executive branch of government, Alito was appointed in 1990 to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. At the time of his confirmation hearings for that post, he was seen as a brilliant lawyer, a prosecutor who had spent his entire law career in government service. Fast forward to his 2006 confirmation hearings, and the scene in Congress was quite different. His nomination was contentious with supporters touting his qualifications and critics threatening to block his confirmation. One Pepperdine University professor said "He approaches cases with impartiality and open-mindedness." Detractors expressed fears that his conservative ideology would preclude a fair approach to issues. He was given the nickname "Scalito" or "Little Scalia" for the way in which his court opinions and ideology resemble those of Supreme Court Justice Scalia.

Alito is the elder of two children of middle-class Italian Roman Catholic parents. His parents were both educators who emphasized learning, hard work, and faith-based values in their closely-knit family. His high school teachers and classmates invariably described him with words like hardworking, smart, analytical, likeable and principled. He played piano and basketball and was a member of the debating team, all with equal focus. The class valedictorian, Alito's native intelligence and work ethic brought him to Princeton University where he graduated in 1972. He subsequently attended Yale Law School where he worked as an editor of the prestigious Yale Law Journal and earned his law degree in 1975. With help from his dad who by then had become head of the state's Office of Legislative Services, the young lawyer landed a job in a private law firm, but six months later turned to public service with a job as law clerk to the Honorable Leonard I. Garth on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. In 1977, he became assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey in the appellate division. Four years later in 1981, he was appointed assistant to the U.S. solicitor general in the U.S. Department of Justice under the Ronald Reagan administration. In 1985 he was appointed to the Office of Legal Counsel as deputy assistant attorney general, and he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1987-1990.

A voracious reader and sports fan, he is an ardent baseball and basketball fan. Alito married Martha-Ann Bomgardner in February 1985 and they have two children, Philip and Laura. They lived in a middle-class neighborhood of New Jersey until he donned the robes of a Supreme Court Justice.

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