born March 11, 1936, Trenton, N.J., U.S.
U.S. jurist.
He studied at Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, where he edited its law review. Successively, he worked for a Cleveland law firm (196167), taught at the University of Virginia (196774), served as an assistant U.S. attorney general (197477), and taught at the University of Chicago (197782). He was appointed by Pres. Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Court of Appeals (1982) and then to the Supreme Court of the United States (1986). Among the court's most outspoken justices, he quickly earned a reputation for aggressive oral argument and scathingly critical written opinions, especially when expressing dissenting views. An opponent of "judicial activism," he favoured a restrained judiciary, deference to the original intent of the framers in constitutional interpretation, and a limited role for the federal government.