Who is Justice Samuel Alito and which president appointed him to the bench?

Controversy again engulfs the U.S. Supreme Court over allegations of unethical and partisan activity outside the Court Chamber as Justice Samuel Alito is scrutinized over flags flown at two of his properties on the heels of fellow Justice Clarence Thomas’ 2023 ethics scandals.

However, it is not the first time the 74-year-old conservative justice has attracted strong criticism.

More:Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito refuses calls to recuse himself from key Jan. 6 cases

Who is Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito?

Samuel Alito was born in 1950 in Trenton, New Jersey. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and later clerked for Judge Leonard A. Garth on the U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit.

He has also served as U.S. Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney of the District of New Jersey, Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel.

He has been married to Martha-Ann Bomgardner since 1985, and the pair has two children.

More:Samuel Alito flew an 'Appeal to Heaven' flag outside vacation home. Why is it controversial?

Justice Samuel Alito’s partisan 2006 appointment

The process to fill Sandra Day O’Connor’s seat on the bench proved rocky from the start. President George W. Bush’s first nominee withdrew her nomination in the face of conservative opposition, opening the door to Samuel Alito’s nomination and eventual appointment.

Alito served on the U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit for 15 years before his Supreme Court nomination. His judicial record during that time came into question during his confirmation hearings, with the American Civil Liberties Union opposing his nomination, citing “a willingness to support government actions that abridge individual freedoms.”

The Senate vote confirming Justice Alito was one of the most expensive and partisan decisions at the time. He succeeded with a vote of 58 to 42, with all but five Democrats opposing.

Ethics controversies: Luxury fishing trip and beach house flags

While Supreme Court justices of every ideological ilk receive criticism over their voting records, it is more unusual for members of the highest court to land in the middle of ethics investigations and public debate. But 2023 reports of Alito’s undisclosed luxury fishing trip with a GOP billionaire whose hedge fund had repeated business before the court sparked just that, leading to an outcry. These investigations also called into question Justice Clarence Thomas’s relationships with partisan figures, and Democrats, in turn, pushed for a code of ethics.

Alito has vehemently denied wrongdoing, calling the article “false” and “misleading” in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

And more recently, flags linked to the “Stop the Steal” movement were seen flying from his homes in Virginia and New Jersey over the past few years, according to reports published in the New York Times this month.

An upside-down American flag flown outside Alito’s Virginia home last summer has become a well-known symbol expressing support with election deniers. An “Appeal to Heaven” flag flown outside the justice’s Long Island home last year is linked to Christian nationalist groups and was carried by some of the Jan. 6 Capitol attackers.

Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at kapalmer@gannett.com and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.