Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. has a long record of rulings on highly charged issues from abortion to the First Amendment as a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Though he is considered the most conservative member of a generally liberal-leaning court, Judge Alito has joined the majority on the court on several notable decisions.

Here are some highlights of his time on the court and as a federal prosecutor in Newark:

Abortion cases

¶In 1991, Judge Alito agreed with most of the Third Circuit in the Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania v. Casey decision upholding a law that imposed several limits on abortion. The law required girls younger than 18 seeking abortion to get their parents' consent or a court order saying such approval was not necessary, and it also required all women seeking abortions to be counseled about the procedure and wait 24 hours before they could have the procedure.

But Judge Alito broke with the majority in asserting that Pennsylvania could also require women to notify their husbands before having abortions. This dissent is often cited by conservatives as evidence that the judge shares their beliefs. The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist quoted Judge Alito in his own dissent in this case when it came before the Supreme Court, which also upheld the other portions of the law by a 5-to-4 vote.

¶In 2000, Judge Alito joined the majority when it struck down New Jersey's ban on the so-called partial birth abortions in Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey v. Farmer. In a concurring opinion, Mr. Alito echoed the majority in arguing that abortion limits must have an exception for the preservation of the health of the mother, because previous Supreme Court rulings required that they do so.