A crowd of over 325 law students rose yesterday, at the dean’s command, to welcome Samuel Alito, associate justice of the Supreme Court, to the School of Law.
Alito spoke as a guest in a series hosted by the law school called “Lives in the Law,” which is designed to educate students on the lifestyles and career choices of successful legal figures. In what developed into a brief verbal biography, the judge shared anecdotes about his childhood and different career stages during a conversational discussion between himself and David Levi, dean of the School of Law.
Alito is the fourth Supreme Court justice to visit the School of Law since Levi joined the administration in 2007. The justice will be teaching a weeklong seminar titled “Current Issues in Constitutional Interpretations” at the Law School for the second time in two years. Melinda Vaughn, executive director of communications for the Law School, said the aim behind the seminar and the event was to give students more of an insight into the principles of the legal profession.
“For students, [Lives in the Law] is an opportunity to think about what its like to be in the legal profession at the highest level,” she said. “The aim is to engage students in the field of law and [to think] about [its] ideals.”
Levi began the conversation by alluding to Alito’s youth in New Jersey. Alito said that although his childhood experiences contributed to how he interprets the law, being part of a group of judges with different backgrounds was a more productive way to understand it. The two joked about Alito’s devotion to the Phillies before delving into the initial stages of Alito’s career.
“We’re all products, to some degree, of our backgrounds,” Alito said. “But it’s good when people who have different... personal backgrounds [and] different legal careers are able to exchange their ideas on a multilevel accord. I think that when that happens the product of the court can be greater than the sum of the parts, and that we can learn a lot from each other.”
Alito went on to describe the different positions he held during the early stages of his career, specifically referring to his time working at the solicitor general’s office in Washington, D.C. It was there that Alito first argued in front of the Supreme Court.
“I still remember when I argued my first case in the Supreme Court—it was probably the most insignificant case the court had heard at any time during the 21st century,” he explained. “I was extremely nervous about this. I was very grateful that Justice O’Connor asked the first question, it was a very gentle question and I knew the answer, that’s what sort of got me rolling.”
Alito began his career working as an assistant U.S. attorney in the district of New Jersey before transferring to the solicitor general’s office. He then spent time working at the Office of Legal Counsel before returning to New Jersey as the U.S. Attorney for the district of New Jersey. As a Supreme Court justice, Alito said when he “can get a word in edgewise,” he focuses on the weakest points of the cases being presented.
“I try to think about questions that I would like to have answered. I often try to think about the weak points in the arguments for each attorney and try to ask about those if one of my colleagues doesn’t do that first,” the justice explained.
In regards to asking the questions he said, “You have to be a little bit rude. It’s a very strange format.”
At the end of the discussion, Alito answered questions from students regarding his career. One of the main concerns students had was finding a balance between personal life and work.
“It’s something you should all think about,” he answered. “You’re expected to work very long hours, and if you let it, that can crowd out the rest of your time.”
Evan Chase, a first-year law student, said he was glad the subject matter revolved around Alito’s lifestyle as opposed to the procedural aspects of his profession.
“He’s reached the pinnacle of his profession. As law students, we’re all interested in hearing about his life with the law,” Chase said.
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