MONROE, La. (KNOE) – One of the United States Supreme Court’s most influential Justices was born on March 11, 1936.
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey to Italian immigrant parents.
He graduated from Georgetown University in 1957 as valedictorian, then earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.
Scalia practiced law in Ohio in the 1960’s before teaching law at the University of Virginia.
He served in both the Nixon and Ford administrations in the Department of Justice.
President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
On September 26, 1986 he was sworn in as Reagan’s pick for the Supreme Court. He was the first Supreme Court Justice with Italian ancestors.
Justice Scalia was known as a staunch conservative. He was a proponent of interpreting the constitution with the founder’s original intent.
He was known for his wit, his insightful questioning, and how his colorful opinions influenced the court’s move toward conservatism.
Justice Scalia died on February 13, 2016.
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