Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Biography

Samuel A. Alito, Jr.

Judge Alito was nominated as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush on Oct. 31, 2005, by President George W. Bush, and confirmed on Jan. 31, 2006. Justice Alito replaced retiring judge Sandra Day O'Connor.

Alito received a B.A. from Princeton in 1972 and a law degree from Yale in 1975. He served as a law clerk for Judge Leonard I. Garth, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (1976-1977), Assistant U.S. attorney, District of New Jersey (1977-1981), Assistant to the U.S. solicitor general, U.S. Department of Justice (1981-1985), Deputy assistant U.S. attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice (1985-1987), U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey (1987-1990) before becoming a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1990.

Alito's judicial philosophy is considered to be highly conservative. In fact, over the years he has acquired the nickname “Scalito,” because his views as a judge closely resemble those of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.