Judge Alito was born in 1950 in Trenton, New Jersey. He graduated from Princeton University in 1972 and Yale Law School in 1975. From 1976 to 1977 he served as a law clerk for Judge Leonard A. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. From 1977 to 1981 he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. In 1981 he joined the Reagan Justice Department. From 1981 to 1985 he served as an Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General and from 1985 until 1987 he was a Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General. From 1987 until 1990 he served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and in 1990 he was nominated by George Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 1990. Read more about him here. (pdf)