Alito, Samuel

▪ 2007

      On Jan. 31, 2006, two hours after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Samuel Alito was sworn in to replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was retiring. Alito, who was nominated in 2005, was Pres. George W. Bush's second Supreme Court appointment that year, following that of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, after an 11-year spell without new blood on the high court. Alito's confirmation proceedings drew especially heavy public attention because this nomination seemed certain to upset the delicate liberal-conservative balance—with Justice O'Connor in a swing position—that had characterized the court in recent years.

      Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., was born on April 1, 1950, in Trenton, N.J., in a middle-class Roman Catholic household. His father, who was born in Italy, was a civil servant, and his mother taught school. Alito earned a bachelor's degree (A.B., 1972) from Princeton University and a law degree (J.D., 1975) from Yale University, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. In the Republican administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, he served as assistant to the U.S. solicitor general (1981–85) and deputy assistant to the U.S. attorney general (1985–87). During his time in the attorney general's office, Alito argued a dozen cases before the Supreme Court. Alito returned to his home state in 1987 as U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey (1987–90). In 1990 Bush appointed him to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

      Admired for his legal acuity, articulateness, and sharp mind, Alito generally approached the law in a literal way rather than interpreting the “spirit of the law.” Throughout his solid legal career, he earned a reputation as a traditional and fair jurist, a clear conservative but without a noticeable political agenda. Many referred to him by the nickname “Scalito,” a reference to similarities with conservative Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Alito voted in favour of restrictions on abortion rights and in favour of the right of local governments to display religious symbols (such as a nativity scene) during holidays and voted against federal gun-control legislation. During the confirmation hearings, Senate Democrats pressed Alito closely on his membership in conservative-tinged organizations. They also expressed some frustration about what they felt was Alito's evasiveness in stating his views on key issues likely to come before the court, such as the continuing debate over the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion and the defensibility of a “unitary executive,” the notion that the president's powers must not be unduly restricted by the legislative or judicial branches. Mostly satisfied, however, the Senate confirmed Alito as the 110th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by a margin of 58 to 42.

Editor

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