Scalia’s Court: A Legacy of Landmark Opinions and Dissents

587 Pages·2016·6.96 MB·English

by  Antonin Scalia

Scalia’s Court
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Scalia s Court
’
A Legacy of Landmark Opinions
and Dissents
With Edits and Commentary by
Kevin A. Ring
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Copyright © 2004, 2016 by Kevin A. Ring
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, record-
ing, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes
to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a maga-
zine, newspaper, website, or broadcast.
Regnery® is a registered trademark of Salem Communications Holding Corpora-
tion
Portions of this book were originally published in 2004 under the title Scalia Dis-
sents: Writings of the Supreme Court’s Wittiest, Most Outspoken Justice (ISBN 978-0-
89526-053-6)
First e-book edition 2016: ISBN 978-1-62157-533-7
2016 Hardcover edition ISBN 978-1-62157-522-1
Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress
Published in the United States by
Regnery Publishing
A Division of Salem Media Group
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Washington, DC 20001
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FOR KILEY AND AUDREY
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CONTENTS
Introduction ix
Chapter One Scalia’s Philosophy 1
Chapter Two Interpreting Laws 21
Chapter Three Separation of Powers 41
Chapter Four Race 73
Chapter Five Abortion 91
Chapter Six Gun Rights 131
Chapter Seven Death Penalty 175
Chapter Eight Rights of the Accused 227
Chapter Nine Religious Freedom 275
Chapter Ten Illegal Immigration 327
Chapter Eleven Homosexuality 353
Chapter Twelve Sexual Equality 403
Chapter Thirteen Free Speech 443
Chapter Fourteen Non-Speech and Un-Free Speech 475
Chapter Fifteen Obamacare 497
Chapter Sixteen Other “Rights” 525
Epilogue Scalia’s Legacy 541
Acknowledgments 545
Notes 547
Bibliography 553
Index 561
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I N T RODUC T I ON
?
S
hortly after the press reported Supreme Court Associate Jus-
tice Antonin Scalia’s death on February 13, 2016, tributes began
pouring in from longtime allies and adversaries alike. Many noted his
towering intellect and praised his consistent approach to interpret-
ing cases. Some spoke of his love of the law and his larger-than-life
personality. Others were impressed that his strongly held views did
not prevent him from establishing warm friendships with those who
disagreed with him.
One trait that nearly everyone praised was Scalia’s brilliant literary
style. His “gift for analysis and words,” one progressive law professor
said, made him “the best judicial stylist since Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Through his opinions, he exerted gravitational pull on the law, even
when he lost.”1 Indeed, during his nearly thirty years on the Court,
Scalia was its premier conservative, intellectual gladiator, and word-
smith.
To be sure, many important and influential conservative jurists
have served on the High Court, and there remain today others who
share Scalia’s textualist and originalist philosophy. Yet it was Scalia
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