The Governor is ordering all State buildings to fly flags at half-staff on Friday, February 19, 2016 through Saturday, February 20, 2016, in recognition of the life and in mourning of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Gregory Scalia.
Justice Scalia was born in 1936 to an Italian immigrant father and an Italian-American mother in our State’s capital, Trenton. He graduated the valedictorian of his high school class in 1953, and then earned a degree in history from Georgetown University in 1957, where he was a champion debater, and once again valedictorian. He undertook his formal study of the law, at Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1960.
Justice Scalia filled important roles in the Nixon and Ford Administrations, including a leadership position in the United States Department of Justice, for which he was confirmed by the United States Senate in 1974. Justice Scalia’s striking intellect and impeccable character were subsequently recognized by President Ronald Reagan, who, in 1982, appointed Justice Scalia to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. President Reagan soon saw that Justice Scalia’s distinctive talents warranted his appointment to our nation’s highest court. After winning unanimous confirmation from the Senate in 1986, Justice Scalia became the first Italian-American Supreme Court Justice in the history of the United States.
“The tragic passing of Justice Antonin Scalia is an enormous loss to our entire country,” said Governor Chris Christie. “Justice Scalia was the bedrock of the Court who, with unmistakable wit and good humor, was unwavering in his fidelity to the Constitution and a fierce advocate and protector of the liberties and freedoms it grants to us all as Americans. Justice Scalia was a Trenton-born New Jerseyan and the first Italian American to serve on the Supreme Court. He was an example and inspiration, and a leader we are proud to call a native son of New Jersey. Mary Pat and I send our thoughts and prayers to his family and loved ones, and the countless friends who mourn him tonight.”
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