U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says judges should not be defined as theorists, reformers or
bureaucrats.

He spoke Tuesday at Rutgers Law School in Newark as part of a series in honor of federal appeals Judge Leonard Garth. Alito clerked for Garth in the mid-1970s.

Alito is a New Jersey native who has a variety of coffee named after him at a renowned Newark store. His name also adorns a sandwich at Hobby's, the city's most famous deli.

Alito was appointed to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush and took his seat in 2006.

On Tuesday he spoke about how judges have been viewed over the centuries as scientists, theorists, reformers and bureaucrats but that judges should not be defined by any of those roles.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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