It's easy to spout platitudes about someone you agree with.
It's something else altogether to be awe-inspired by someone whose views are usually in diametric opposition to your own.
There are not many issues where I found myself on the same page with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
That never kept me from the pages of his rousing opinions.
If you're looking for a sign of just how great Scalia was, maybe that's it.
I know this is not a popular thing for "liberals" to admit. Scalia is supposed to be anathema.
Maybe so. But I'd offer another word as well.
Brilliant.
Scalia likely did more to change the fact of the high court. He was controversial, passionate, and most importantly, not shy about his opinions.
For me, they were always a must read, even when I knew I was not going to agree with him.
Then something odd happened.
The more I read his opinions, the more I found myself agreeing with him.
Scalia came to be known in legal circles as an "originalist."
Simply put, he did not abide by the belief that the Constitution was a living, breathing, and most importantly "evolving" document.
Instead, it was what it was.
And Scalia never veered away from that belief. That often put him at odds with judges and others who insisted on "interpreting" the Constitution.
He was not a big fan of abortion, affirmative action and gay rights, and he routinely would use the words of the Constitution to back up that stance. He was noted for challenging those who pushed such positions to show him where in the Constitution those rights were outlined.
He had little time or patience for judges who used an interpretation of the Constitution to impose their own beliefs, although I guess the same argument could be made for him not doing the same.
Scalia was the first Italian-American to join the high court, and he did not waste any time making his name synonymous with conservative issues.
He took great pride in jousting with attorneys during legal arguments before the court.
Maybe most notably, he retained the ability to be friends with those whose positions he disavowed. His longtime friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Unfortunately, Scalia's death over the weekend merely provides more fuel for the partisan politics and bloodsport that defines Washington today. President Obama said he would make a nomination to fill the void left by Scalia, while Republicans immediately said no such nomination should be made until after the election.
Here's a name to keep in mind in case you're interested in such things.
Judge Merrick Garland. He is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He's been considered for the high court before. His name is believed to be on the short list.
But that's not why I know him.
My daughter actually clerked for him after graduating from law school.
I think it probably goes without saying that my daughter would not agree with many of the positions Justice Scalia held. But that never stopped her from seeing just how brilliant of a legal mind he was.
She admired his writing and his bedrock belief in the Constitution.
My daughter can write rings around her father. She got that from her mother.
For now I will mark the passing of a legal giant, regardless of whether I agreed with him or not.
Comments