Get to Know a Supreme Court Justice: Antonin Scalia

It has been a while since we checked in with the Supreme Court. Welcome back to our Get to Know a Supreme Court Justice series! Today, we will be checking in with Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, the current longest-serving justice on the Supreme court. Without further ado, let’s learn about his distinguished life.

Justice Scalia was born on March 11, 1936 in Trenton, New Jersey to a family of Italian immigrants. Just a generation removed for Sicily, Scalia was an energetic and enthusiastic young boy. He seemed delighted by the possibilities and opportunities available to him. At the age of six, the family moved to Queens, New York where. For school he attended Jesuit Xavier High School in Manhattan on scholarship.

For undergrad he attended prestigious Georgetown University where he graduated as valedictorian holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. The next step was Harvard Law School from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1960

Justice Scalia’s law career began in Cleveland Ohio. He was on the fast track to becoming partner when he realized that his ambitions may lay in a different direction. His heart told him he wanted to teach. In 1967 he became a professor of Law at the University of Virginia.

The field of politics was next. In 1971 he was appointed by then President Richard Nixon as the general counsel for the Office of Telecommunications Policy.

Things truly took for Scalia in 1982 when he became part of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Here his reputation spread. He was known as witty, hardworking and critical of the Supreme Court.

In 1986 Scalia was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Regan. The nomination was met with no opposition has he became the first Italian-American to serve on the Supreme Court.