Who is Justice Samuel Alito?
LAWYER and Jurist Samuel Alito's career trajectory eventually landed him a position on the United States Supreme Court.
Samuel Alito was elected as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court by former president George W Bush, assuming his position on the highest court on January 31, 2006.
Who is Justice Samuel Alito?
Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. was born on April 1, 1950, in Trenton, New Jersey.
Not only was Alito the valedictorian of his high school class, but he also went on to graduate from Princeton University and Yale Law School.
After college, he began his military duty as a second lieutenant in the US Army Reserve, and was quickly promoted to first lieutenant and captain.
Alito was honorably discharged in 1980 and went on to serve as the Assistant US Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
He then served as an Assistant to the US Solicitor General Rex E. Lee, a Deputy Assistant Attorney General under Charles J. Cooper, and the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
On October 31, 2005, Samuel was nominated by then-president Bush to serve on the US Supreme Court as an associate justice.
Bush said at the time of the nomination: "He’s scholarly, fair-minded, and principled."
"These qualities will serve him well on the highest court in the land."
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He added: "[His record] reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal merits carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion."
"He has a deep understanding of the proper role of judges in our society."
"He understands judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people."
Alito assumed the position On January 31, 2006, and is the 110th justice overall.
He is also the second Italian American justice to serve on the US Supreme Court, after the late Antonin Scalia.
Is Samuel Alito married and does he have kids?
In February 1985, the associate justice tied the knot with Martha Ann Bomgardner, now known as Martha Ann Alito.
Martha Ann is a former law librarian, who Alito met and got to know over his many trips to her workplace while serving as a law clerk.
The married couple, who have been together for nearly 40 years, have two children together.
Over the years, they've welcomed a son named Philip and a daughter named Laura.
Similar to his father, Philip is a lawyer with a career in politics.
Laura, meanwhile, is a communications consultant and a former NCAA D1 swimmer.
Why is ‘Justice Alito upside down flag’ trending?
On January 17, 2021, an upside-down American flag was spotted flying over the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Typically, an upside-down flag is seen as a sign of protest, or a sign of distress.
However, the meaning shifted after the 2020 US Presidential election.
Many of Donald Trump's supporters believed, and continue to believe, that the 2020 election had been rigged or otherwise impacted by fraud.
Some individuals began using the upside-down American flag as a symbol of support for Donald Trump, and for what they believed to be a stolen election.
Some Americans assume the upside-down flag, spotted at Alito's home just weeks after the January 6 Capitol Riots, shows a sign of support for the former President, and the proven-false claims of a stolen election.
Lawmakers are calling on Alito to recuse himself from cases relating to the 2020 Presidential Election and the Capitol Riot, believing that he cannot be impartial and unbiased.
“Flying an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement — clearly creates the appearance of bias,” Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said in .
On Friday, May 17, 2024, Alito told that his wife had chosen to display the upside-down flag ";in response to insults directed at her from a neighbor."
Alito's neighbor had reportedly put up a "F**k Trump" sign in their front yard, which was allegedly 50 feet away from a children's school bus stop.
When Alito's wife confronted the neighbor, they reportedly used derogatory language towards her, including calling her the c-word.
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In response, Alito's wife reportedly chose to fly the flag upside down "for a short time" in response to the neighbor's actions.
Alito added that he "felt [he] had no right or ability to control or order around [his] wife," and that "some neighbors on [his] street have been 'very political.'"