Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. Appointed to the Court by President Ronald Reagan, Scalia was described as the intellectual anchor for the originalist and textualist position in the Court's conservative wing. (Click here for full Wikipedia article)
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A Bill of Rights that means what the majority wants it to mean is worthless.
A Constitution is not meant to facilitate change. It is meant to impede change, to make it difficult to change.
A law can be both economic folly and constitutional.
A man who has made no enemies is probably not a very good man.
As long as judges tinker with the Constitution to 'do what the people want,' instead of what the document actually commands, politicians who pick and confirm new federal judges will naturally want only those who agree with them politically.
Bear in mind that brains and learning, like muscle and physical skill, are articles of commerce. They are bought and sold. You can hire them by the year or by the hour. The only thing in the world not for sale is character.
Campaign promises are- by long democratic tradition- the least binding form of human commitment.
I attack ideas. I don't attack people. And some very good people have some very bad ideas. And if you can't separate the two, you gotta get another day job.
I love to argue. I've always loved to argue. And I love to point out the weaknesses of the opposing arguments. It may well be that I'm something of a shin kicker. It may well be that I'm something of a contrarian.
I respect the people who have them, but I think those views are just flat out wrong.
If a bill is about to pass that really comes down hard on some minority [and] they think it's terribly unfair, it doesn't take much to throw a monkey wrench into this complex system. Americans should appreciate that; they should learn to love the gridlock. It's there so the legislation that does get out is good legislation.
If I were king, I would not allow people to go about burning the American flag. However, we have a First Amendment, which says that the right of free speech shall not be abridged.
In a big family the first child is kind of like the first pancake. If it's not perfect, that's okay, there are a lot more coming along.
Indeed, follow your star if you want to head north and it's the North Star. But if you want to head north and it's Mars, you had better follow somebody else's star.
It so happens that everything that is stupid is not unconstitutional.
Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.
More important than your obligation to follow your conscience, or at least prior to it, is your obligation to form your conscience correctly.
Never compromise your principles, unless of course your principles are Adolf Hitler's, in which case you would be well advised to compromise them as much as you can.
Persuade your fellow citizens it's a good idea and pass a law. That's what democracy is all about. It's not about nine superannuated judges who have been there too If you're going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you're not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like.
Categories: Antonin Scalia, Quotes of the day
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