Samuel Alito '75 Sworn in as Supreme Court Justice

The nomination of Samuel A. Alito '75 to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme court was confirmed by the Senate today in a 58 to 42 vote. Within hours, Alito was sworn in during a ceremony held at the Supreme Court.

President George W. Bush congratulated the new Justice: "Sam Alito is a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench. He is a man of deep character and integrity, and he will make all Americans proud as a Justice on our highest court."

Alito is the 110th justice to serve on the Supreme Court. He is the sixth graduate of Yale Law School to become a Supreme Court justice.

Sherman Minton, Class of 1917 LLM, served on the court 1949-56
Abe Fortas, Class of 1933, served on the court 1965-69
Potter Stewart, Class of 1941, served on the court 1958-81
Byron White, Class of 1946, served on the court 1962-93
Clarence Thomas, Class of 1974, currently serving on the court

You can read some of the discussion that Alito's nomination provoked at the Law School.