SAMUEL ALITO

Associate Justice

Appointed by: George W. Bush

Sworn in: January 31, 2006

Preceded by: Sandra Day O’Connor

2005 — Present

Personal Life and Education

Samuel Alito Jr. was born on April 1, 1950 in Trenton, New Jersey. Alito’s father was an Italian immigrant and schoolteacher before serving as the first director for the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services from 1952 to 1984. His mother, Rose, was the daughter of Italian-American immigrants and also a schoolteacher. Alito graduated as valedictorian from Steinert High School in 1968 before attending Princeton University in the fall. While at Princeton, Alito led the American Whig-Cliosophic Society’s debate panel and was a member of the school’s Army ROTC program. In 1971, Alito hosted a student conference called “The Boundaries of Privacy in American Society,” which supported limits on domestic surveillance and called for the end of discrimination against gays. During his senior year, Alito studied in Italy and wrote his thesis on the Italian legal system. Alito graduated from Princeton summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1972.

After graduating from Princeton, Alito joined the United States Army Reserve as a second lieutenant. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1975, Alito began serving active duty at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Alito was promoted to the ranks of first lieutenant and captain before he was honorably discharged in 1980. In 1985, Alito married Martha-Ann, who he met while studying in the library as a law clerk.

Justice Alito visiting his former High School after the renamed the library after him. | Credit: Suzette J. Lucas

Justice Alito visiting his former High School after they renamed the library after him. | Credit: Suzette J. Lucas

Career

After law school, Alito clerked for Judge Leonard Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit until 1977. After his time as a clerk, Alito served as the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where worked under Maryanne Trump Barry and prosecuted cases related to drug trafficking and organized crime. In 1981, Alito became the Assistant to the Solicitor General. In this position, he argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court, losing only two. After working with the Solicitor General, Alito applied to become the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, a position he held from 1985 to 1987. Alito then served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1987 to 1990.

Before his nomination, Judge Leonard Garth and Judge Maryanne Trump Barry (both members of the Third Circuit) recommended Alito’s name to President George H.W. Bush to consider for an open seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. President Bush nominated Alito to the seat on February 20, 1990 and he was confirmed by a unanimous vote in the Senate on April 27.

Nomination to the Court

In July of 2005, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her intention to retire upon the confirmation of a successor. President Bush initially nominated John Roberts to fill the vacancy, but when Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away in September, the President withdrew Roberts’ nomination to fill Justice O’Connor’s seat and instead nominated him for the position of Chief Justice.

On October 3, President Bush announced the nomination of his long-time political ally and White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. After just three weeks, however, Miers withdrew her nomination after facing opposition from both liberals and conservatives. Days later, President Bush announced his intention to nominate Alito to fill the vacancy on the Court. In January, confirmation hearings were held over the course of four days. The Senate Judiciary Committee sent his nomination to the Senate on a party line vote of 10-8 and after a failed attempt to initiate a filibuster by Senator John Kerry, the full Senate voted to confirm him by a margin of 58-42.