Here's a look at the life of US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Birthdate: April 1, 1950
Place of birth: Trenton, New Jersey
Birth name: Samuel Antonio Alito Jr.
Father: Samuel Alito, a teacher
Mother: Rosa (Fradusco) Alito, teacher
Marriage: Martha-Ann (Bomgardner) Alito (1985-present)
Children: Felipe and Laura
Education: Princeton University, AB, 1972; Yale University, Doctor of Laws, 1975
Nicknamed “Scalito” because his views resemble those of the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
He argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court, the first in 1982.
1976-1977 – Law clerk to Leonard I. Garth, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
1977-1981 – Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
1981-1985 – Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
1985-1987 – Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
1987-1990 – Appointed by President Ronald Reagan as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
February 20, 1990 – Nominated by President George HW Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
April 27, 1990 – Confirmed unanimously by the Senate in an oral vote.
April 30, 1990-2006 – Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Newark, New Jersey.
1991 – He is the lone dissenting voice in a Third Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to have an abortion.
1993 – He agrees with the majority that an Iranian woman seeking asylum could establish her eligibility by demonstrating that she abhors her country's “gender-specific laws and repressive social norms,” or because of a belief in feminism or group membership. feminist.
1999 – Writes opinion in a case that says a Christmas display on city property does not violate the separation of church and state doctrines because it included a large plastic Santa Claus, as well as a menorah and a banner saluting diversity .
2001 – He agrees with the majority striking down a public school district's anti-bullying policy, saying the policy – which included non-vulgar, non-school-sponsored speech – violated the First Amendment.
October 31, 2005 – President George W. Bush nominates Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.
January 31, 2006 – Alito is confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. The United States Senate votes 58-42. He immediately takes the oath before Chief Justice John Roberts.
February 1, 2006 – He was sworn in for the second time as a Supreme Court justice in a ceremony at the White House.
May 29, 2007 – In a 5-4 ruling, the court dismisses a pay discrimination lawsuit, with Alito representing the majority. The original lawsuit was filed by a worker, Lilly Ledbetter, against her employer, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. She claimed that she was underpaid because of gender discrimination. In the opinion, Alito writes that Ledbetter filed the claim after the federally mandated 180-day deadline, concluding that “the filing deadline protects employers from the burden of defending claims arising from employment decisions made long ago.” ”.
January 28, 2010 – During President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, Alito is seen uttering the words “not true” in response to the president's criticism of the court's 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which eliminated limits on campaign spending by corporations and unions.
March 2, 2011 – Alito is the only dissenter in the free speech case involving the Westboro Baptist Church. In an 8-1 decision, the court rules that the First Amendment allows the church to hold anti-gay protests, even at military funerals. Westboro had been sued by the family of a fallen Marine whose funeral was interrupted by church protesters. In his dissent, Alito writes: “Our deep national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal attack that occurred in this case.”
June 25, 2013 – He writes the majority opinion in Adoptive Couple v. Girl, where the question is: can a single, non-custodial parent block an adoption using the federal Indian Child Welfare Act? The court ruled, 5-4, in favor of the adoptive parents ruling that ICWA did not apply when the father had never had physical or legal custody of the child.
June 30, 2014 – Write the majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, where the court ruled 5-4 that family-owned corporations can be exempt from a federal mandate requiring the inclusion of contraceptive coverage in employee health plans based on religious objections.
June 27, 2018 – Court issues 5-4 ruling striking down an Illinois law requiring nonunion public sector workers to pay collective bargaining fees. The opinion, written by Alito, says: “It is difficult to estimate how many billions of dollars have been taken from non-members and transferred to public sector unions in violation of the First Amendment. “These unconstitutional exactions cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.”
February 1, 2019 – Alito temporarily blocks an abortion law from taking effect in Louisiana, filing an order saying judges need more time to review records in the case against a measure restricting access to clinics.
November 25, 2019 – Writes the lone dissenter in the court's denial of National Review's defamation suit petition. Climate scientist Michael Mann sued the conservative magazine in 2012 after two columnists wrote about his work and the “Hockey Stick” curve graph illustrating rising average global temperatures, accusing him of “misconduct” and ” data manipulation. Alito writes that the case raises First Amendment concerns “that go to the very heart of the constitutional guarantee of free speech and freedom of the press: the protection afforded to journalists and others who use harsh language when criticizing the opposition defense of one of the most important public issues of the moment. “If the Court is serious about protecting free speech, we should grant review.”
June 24, 2022 – Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, maintaining that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to abortion. In his majority opinion, Alito says that “Roe was wildly wrong from the beginning.”
November 28, 2022 – In a letter, the Supreme Court's legal counsel says there is no evidence that Alito violated ethical standards, in response to questions from congressional Democrats about allegations that Alito revealed the outcome of a 2014 decision before your publication.
July 28, 2023 – Alito agrees to temporarily freeze a lower court order prohibiting the US government from regulating so-called ghost guns (untraceable homemade weapons) as firearms under federal law.
October 6, 2023 – Alito freezes a lower court ruling that prevented the Biden administration from regulating so-called ghost guns.
