The Cool Fervor of Judge Alito

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Thriving at work, Alito was enduring a personal crisis, the declining health of his father, which gave his colleagues a window into a relationship that had shaped the often shy, private man. Samuel Alito Sr. had worked more than 30 years for the New Jersey state government, mainly in the office of legislative services, which is in charge of conducting research and writing legislation for state lawmakers. Alito's dad, who had occasionally let his son come to see his work at the statehouse, was widely admired for his nonpartisan approach. Although people knew he was a Republican, both parties trusted his judgment, putting him in charge of a redistricting project in the 1960s. He was also known for being strict, firing employees who violated the rules of the apolitical office by expressing their views of pending legislation. And like his son, he was a stickler for careful writing, sharply criticizing any material his staff members wrote that had grammatical errors.

The father's health quickly worsened after his retirement in 1984. The young Alito was very close to his parents and his sister Rosemary and headed back to their New Jersey home as often as he could. But his job frequently kept him in Washington, and the situation left him talking to his colleagues about the influence his father had on him. "He would recount the strenuous efforts his father made to undertake redistricting in a methodical, precise way," says Doug Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University who worked with Alito. "His father gave him a model for how to deal with people in a fair and evenhanded way." Alito Sr. died in 1987 of a heart problem, and dozens who were involved in New Jersey politics attended his wake.

By that time, Alito had found a new job. When the U.S. Attorney's post in Newark, N.J., opened up in '87, Alito wasn't an obvious candidate. U.S. Attorneys, the top federal prosecutors in each state, are often swashbuckling, charismatic figures who are aiming to head into politics. In his Justice Department job, Alito worked on highly technical legal questions, seldom held press conferences and rarely showed up in a courtroom. Alito saw the job as a chance to move back near where he grew up and be closer to his family, and he had a novel spin on his dearth of qualifications: he told a colleague the position would give him a "remedial education"—a chance to get more trial experience and focus on less specialized issues than the ones in his work in Washington. Friends saw the stirrings of a politician, someone who could size himself up against the competition. Alito told them that a rival candidate had shown a lack of conviction by giving money to both political parties.