Here's an in-depth look at the life of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

Personal: Birth date: April 1, 1950

Birthplace: Trenton, NJ

Birth name: Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

Father: Samuel Alito, a teacher (deceased)

Mother: Rose (Fradusco) Alito, a teacher

Marriage: Martha- Ann (Bomgardner) Alito (1985 - present)

Children: Philip and Laura

Education: Princeton University, AB, 1972; Yale University, JD, 1975

Other Facts: Nicknamed "Scalito" as his views resemble those of conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Has argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court, the first in 1982.

Timeline: 1976-1977 - Law clerk to Hon. Leonard I. Garth, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

1977-1981 - Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

1981-1985 - Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General.

1985-1987 - Deputy Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General.

1987-1990 - Named by President Ronald Reagan as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

February 20, 1990 - Nominated by President George H. W. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

April 27, 1990 - Confirmed unanimously by the Senate on a voice vote.

April 30, 1990-2006 - Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Newark, New Jersey.

1991 - Is the only dissenting voice in a 3rd Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion. Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 947 F.2d 682 (3d Cir. 1991)

1993 - Agrees with the majority that an Iranian woman seeking asylum could establish eligibility by showing that she had an abhorrence with her country's "gender specific laws and repressive social norms," or because of a belief in feminism or membership in a feminist group. Fatin v. INS, 12 F.3d 1233 (3d Cir. 1993)

1999 - Writes the opinion in a case that said a Christmas display on city property did not violate separation of church and state doctrines because it included a large plastic Santa Claus as well as a Menorah and a banner hailing diversity. ACLU v. Schundler, 168 F.3d 92 (3d Cir. 1999)

2001 - Agrees with the majority that struck down a public school district's anti-harassment policy, saying the policy -- which included non-vulgar, non-school-sponsored speech -- violated the First Amendment. Saxe v. State College Area School District, 240 F.3d 200 (3d Cir. 2001)

October 31, 2005 - George W. Bush nominates Alito to be Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement on the Supreme Court.

January 31, 2006 - Alito is confirmed as an associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Senate voted 58-42. He is immediately sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts.