Who is Justice Samuel A. Alito? Supreme Court justice who wrote opinion overturning Roe v. Wade

Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY
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President George W. Bush nominated Associate Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court in October 2005. Alito was confirmed by the Senate 58-42, with most Republicans and four Democrats backing him.

After more than 15 years, Alito has proven himself a consistent conservative voice on the court.

Alito has been guided by his strict adherence to textualism, or emphasizing the words of a law as written.

He has also been one of the court's most outspoken proponents of religious freedom. He wrote the 2014 opinion that exempted some businesses from complying with a provision in the Affordable Care Act because of religious objections. In 2020, he wrote the majority opinion that upheld exemptions for religious employers from employment discrimination laws.

Alito authored the Supreme Court’s majority opinion ending the constitutional right to abortion established by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. State legislatures can now pass laws to make the procedure illegal.

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Who is Samuel Alito?

Alito is the 110th justice to serve on the Supreme Court. He previously served as a judge on the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

Alito spent the 1970s and 1980s in various positions with the federal government. He clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Leonard Garth before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey from 1977 to 1981. In the mid-1980s, Alito worked as an assistant solicitor general in President Ronald Reagan's administration, regularly arguing cases before the Supreme Court.

Then he took a position as assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice until he became the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey in 1987, staying in that role until President George H.W. Bush nominated him to the 3rd Circuit in 1990.

Samuel Alito age

Alito was born on April 1, 1950. He is 72.

Where is Samuel Alito from?

Alito was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He was raised in New Jersey by his father and mother, who came from immigrant Italian families. His parents were both public school teachers. Alito attended Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.

Who appointed Samuel Alito?

President George W. Bush nominated Alito to the Supreme Court in 2005.

Who did Samuel Alito replace?

Alito replaced retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Is Samuel Alito liberal or conservative?

Alito is a member of the court’s conservative wing.

What is Samuel Alito’s party affiliation?

Alito is a conservative who worked for a Republican president and was nominated by Republican presidents to the bench and other positions, though it is unclear whether he is registered with a political party. Judicial watchdog Fix The Court found no voter registration records for Alito.

Is Samuel Alito an originalist?

Alito subscribes to an originalist judicial philosophy, in which the words of the Constitution are interpreted to have the same meaning as they would have been understood by the framers.

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Alito also is a textualist, a term popularized by the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative firebrand. Textualism emphasizes the literal meaning of the words in the law.

What are Samuel Alito’s most important opinions?

In 2014, Alito authored a 5-4 majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby ruling that religious employers could deny contraception coverage in insurance plans to employees despite a requirement by the Affordable Care Act that they provide that coverage.

In the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, Alito wrote "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak."

"It's time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives," the opinion reads.

How long has Samuel Alito been a justice?

Alito has been a justice since 2006. In 2022, he surpassed 16 years on the court.

Is Samuel Alito Catholic?

Alito is one of six Catholic justices on the court.

Does Samuel Alito have a family?

Alito married Martha-Ann Bomgardner Alito in 1985. They have two children.

Where did Samuel Alito go to school?

Alito graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Princeton University in 1972. He got his law degree in 1975 from Yale Law School, where he served as the editor of the Yale Law Journal.

While at Princeton University, Alito joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army after graduating, the Washington Post reported. Alito served on active duty briefly before going on inactive reserve status. He was discharged in 1980.

How does Samuel Alito vote?

Alito consistently votes with the court’s conservatives. In the 2020 term, he voted with Chief Justice John Roberts 75% of the time, according to the Harvard Law Review. He voted agreed with Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor 43% of the time.

Contributing: John Fritze

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Justice Samuel A. Alito: What to know about the Supreme Court justice