Long Overshadowed Samuel Alito Gets His Moment in the Spotlight

Samuel Alito is having a moment.

Alito, the taciturn conservative justice who turned 76 this month, has always been admired by conservatives yet overshadowed in star power by fellow conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

But as he nears the end of his 20th term on the court, his stock has never been higher.

He was the subject of a full day Federalist Society fete in March and two biographies publishing this month. Alito’s first book, which promises an examination of his originalist legal philosophy and views on the court’s role in US culture wars, is set to publish ...