Selene Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Quote Justice Antonin Scalia, whose transformative legal theories, vivid writing and outsize personality made him a leader of a conservative intellectual renaissance in his three decades on the Supreme Court, was found dead on Saturday at a resort in West Texas, according to a statement from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. He was 79. “He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues,” Chief Justice Roberts said. “His passing is a great loss to the Court and the country he so loyally served.” The cause of death was not immediately released. Justice Scalia began his service on the court as an outsider known for caustic dissents that alienated even potential allies. But his theories, initially viewed as idiosyncratic, gradually took hold, and not only on the right and not only in the courts. He was, Judge Richard A. Posner wrote in The New Republic in 2011, “the most influential justice of the last quarter century.” Justice Scalia was a champion of originalism, the theory of constitutional interpretation that seeks to apply the understanding of those who drafted and ratified the Constitution. In Justice Scalia’s hands, originalism generally led to outcomes that pleased political conservatives, but not always. His approach was helpful to criminal defendants in cases involving sentencing and the cross-examination of witnesses. With the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens in 2010, Justice Scalia became the longest serving member of the current court. By then, Justice Scalia was routinely writing for the majority in the major cases, including ones on the First Amendment, class actions and arbitration. He was an exceptional stylist who labored over his opinions and took pleasure in finding precisely the right word or phrase. In dissent, he took no prisoners. The author of a majority opinion could be confident that a Scalia dissent would not overlook any shortcomings. Justice Scalia wrote for a broader audience than most of his colleagues. His opinions were read by lawyers and civilians for pleasure and instruction. Justice Scalia’s sometimes withering questioning helped transform what had been a sleepy bench when he arrived into one that Chief Justice Roberts has said has become too active, with the justices interrupting the lawyers and each other. NY Times This is a disaster in waiting. A... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 RIP, Justice Scalia. One hell of a great life. In the practical matter of succession, can you imagine what Obama's presidency will look like if another one or two Supreme Court Justices pass away and he cannot get their replacements through Congress? Because I doubt he has the temperament to settle on a compromise replacement and actually negotiate with Republicans. In my opinion, in the current atmosphere, the standard graft and corruption backroom deals will not be enough to replace Scalia with a person Obama would like. If a Republican Congress member even hinted he or she would go along with something like that, it would spell their political death. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backlighting Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Not good. Barry will fill the seat. R.I.P Scalia ...A good man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 The "Majority Leader" of the Senate can kill any appointment. If they could make a deal, I would insist that Evita gets indicted. A Special Prosecutor has to be appointed and the Majority Leader has to approve. These two items have to be done first. The O'bama has to submit three (3) names. Then they begin to investigate all three while the Federal Grand Jury meets and Evita is indicted. That should get us to at least September. Then ML McConnell rejects all three and then he submits three to O'bama. The election will be done by then and ML tells O'bama that it has been fun and have a nice post Presidency. ML has to make sure that the Senate is never officially in recess so O'bama can not make any appointments. A... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backlighting Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 So the majority leader can put up a firewall, so to speak. That's good news. -Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 Originalist, to Scalia, in terms of Constitutional theory means: Quote Originalism suggests that the Constitution has a static meaning, Scalia said. In this lecture, Scalia explained that: Quote “Of course its provisions have to be applied to new phenomena” like the radio and the Internet, he said. “It is essential to originalism, as it is not to so-called ‘evolutionary constitutional jurisprudence,’ to know the original meaning of constitutional provisions. “I deny the premise that law has nothing to do with historical inquiry,” Scalia said, dismissing critics' assertions that inquiry into the past has nothing to do with law. “Historical inquiry has nothing to do with the law only if the original meaning is irrelevant.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/02/14/politico-symposium-on-justice-scalia/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_volokh ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Textualism, for Scalia, is a theory of how to interpret statutes. Quote “We look for meaning in the governing texts, ascribe to that text the meaning that it has borne from its inception, and reject judicial speculation about both the drafters’ extratextually derived purposes and the desirability of the fair reading’s anticipated consequences.” http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/scalia_and_garner_release_567_page_tome_on_legal_writing/ This is what Roberts failed to do in the PPACA case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merjet Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 What Justice Scalia’s death means for pending Supreme Court decisions. After Scalia's death, 6 pending cases about companies, jobs and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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