Samuel Alito

Samuel Alito
Official portrait of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
Official portrait, 2007
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Assumed office
January 31, 2006
Nominated byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded bySandra Day O'Connor
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
In office
April 30, 1990 – January 31, 2006
Nominated byGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byJohn Joseph Gibbons
Succeeded byJoseph A. Greenaway Jr.
United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
In office
December 10, 1987 – April 30, 1990
Nominated byRonald Reagan
Preceded byThomas Greelish
Succeeded byMichael Chertoff
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
In office
1985–1987
PresidentRonald Reagan
Personal details
Born
Samuel Anthony Alito Jr.

(1950-04-01) April 1, 1950 (age 74)
Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Spouse
Martha-Ann Bomgardner
(m. 1985)
Children2
Education
AwardsOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic (2017)
SignatureCursive signature in ink
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1972–1980
Rank Captain
UnitSignal Corps (Reserve)

Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. (/əˈlt/ ə-LEE-toh; born April 1, 1950) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated to the high court by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served on it since January 31, 2006. After Antonin Scalia, Alito is the second Italian American justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Alito was raised in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, and was educated at Princeton University and Yale Law School. After graduating from law school, he worked as an assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel and served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. In 1990, Alito was appointed as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, where he served until joining the Supreme Court. He has called himself a "practical originalist"[1] and is a member of the Supreme Court's conservative bloc.[2]

Alito has written majority opinions in the landmark cases McDonald v. Chicago (2010) on firearm rights, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014) on insurance coverage, Janus v. AFSCME (2018) on public-sector union security agreements, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) on abortion.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Originalist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Granick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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