Free Republic

Thank you Instapundit, Power Line, How Appealing, Local Liberty, House Of Toast, Sophistpundit, Another Rovian Conspiracy, The Discerning Texan, World Magazine Blog, Keith Devens, Faith Matters and GeekWithA45 for the links. Please enjoy your stay and come back often. Here is a transcription of a speech Justice Scalia delivered at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on March 14, 2005, and broadcast by C-Span. Justice Scalia makes some very thought provoking arguments. I may need to revise some of my own opinions, as I am largely persuaded by his presentation. This could be painful. This took a lot of...

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote that government derives its authority from the consent of the governed. Scalia doesn’t see it that way. In a speech in 2002, he reminded his audience what it says in the Bible: the government is ordained by God. During arguments in [i]Van Orden v. Perry,[/i] Scalia said Jefferson was wrong. Our government doesn’t derive its authority from the consent of the governed. It “derives its authority from God.” And, he insisted, it’s a fact that “the foundation of our laws is God.” Read all about it: http://www.misterthorne.org/ESSAYS/scalia_v_jefferson.htm Enjoy!

A few weeks ago I was watching a program on C-Span pertaining to the impact of foreign court opinions upon the U.S. justice system. The primary participants in the discussion were Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer, and the event took place at the American University Law School in Washington D.C. rtsp://video.c-span.org/archive/sc/sc011305_scalia.rm The debate revolved around questions asked by a moderator named Professor Norman Dorsen, and the first multi-part question asked was, "When we talk about the use of foreign court decisions in U.S. Constitutional cases, what body of foreign law are we talking about? Are we limiting...

The Supreme Court Justice is vying for the chief's seat on the bench. Though he bravely overcame his illness to deliver the presidential oath of office at last week's Inaugural, most court watchers assume that Chief Justice William Rehnquist's cancer will soon force him to retire from the Supreme Court. Which means the guessing game is in full swing over which of the court's sitting Justices is most likely to replace him. If he does not go outside for the job, President Bush will probably choose one of the court's two most stalwart conservatives, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Scalia...

Chief Justice William Rehnquist's health is so poor he likely soon will be called to the Great Appellate Bench in the Sky. On NBC's "Meet the Press" program last month, the new Senate Democratic leader, Sen. Harry Reid, said he could support the elevation of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia to chief justice, but not Thomas. Angela Onwuachi-Willig, a liberal Democrat and law professor who is black, said Reid's erroneous attack on Thomas appeared to be motivated by racism. "It is the black justice who cannot write opinions, articulate independent thoughts or perform his job well," she said, writing in the...

Washington, DC –Jonathan Turley, a constitutional scholar at George Washington Law School has just penned what is a clear sign that our nation is not on a slippery slope toward sexual degradation and moral decline—rather our country is on a rocket-propelled missile into social chaos. Turley argued in Monday’s issue of USA Today that polygamy is the next logical step in the goal of social activists to overturn any remaining barriers to the redefining of marriage. Turley says he detests the idea of polygamy but he has put forth the legal arguments for its legalization. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia,...

Radical pro-abortion group NARAL warned its members that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would be President George W. Bush's choice to replace ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist when he decides to retire, and they want to "stop this nomination before it's even announced." In an e-mail to supporters on Saturday, NARAL said "rumors are flying" that the "extreme far-right" Scalia will be chosen by Bush to replace Rehnquist and they are not pleased with this at all. "Justice Scalia is out of step with the American people and is one of the Court's most virulent opponents of a woman's right...

The Supreme Court’s recent decisions protecting abortion rights, upholding the legalization of assisted suicide and striking down anti-sodomy laws represent a “dangerous” trend, Justice Antonin Scalia told a Harvard audience last night. Scalia held the rapt attention of the jam-packed John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum last night, although some students and faculty said they were put off by his conservative judicial philosophy. In a freewheeling question-and-answer session following the justice’s prepared remarks, an African-American graduate student challenged Scalia to defend the constitutionality of racial profiling. The Kennedy School student, Larry Harris Jr., said that his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights...

Justice Antonin Scalia said yesterday his colleagues on the Supreme Court will probably go on referring to foreign court decisions in their rulings on U.S. law but that does not make it right. Scalia generally opposes a greater role and influence for international law in U.S. courts. Although that view made him an unusual choice to speak to the American Society of International Law, Scalia said he welcomes the opportunity to engage his critics. "It is my view that modern foreign legal material can never be relevant to any interpretation of, that is to say, to the meaning of the...

A short time ago, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia went duck hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney. Many editorial writers are now insisting that Justice Scalia should recuse himself from a pending case in which two public-interest groups are suing Cheney: They want him to turn over the records of the energy task force of which he is a member. Does the law require Justice Scalia to recuse himself? There is a statute on the subject, which lists various grounds for disqualification (e.g., the judge has a financial interest in the case, or the judge served as a lawyer in...

Justice Antonin Scalia went duck hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney in January, just weeks after the Supreme Court accepted an important case involving Mr. Cheney. There were widespread calls on Justice Scalia to recuse himself, which he refused. Now it turns out that Justice Scalia accepted free air travel from Mr. Cheney, making the case for recusal far stronger. And there are reports of questionable contacts between Justice Scalia and another person with a case before him. In the interest of justice, and of the court's reputation, Justice Scalia should step aside in Mr. Cheney's case. The Supreme Court...

December 11, 2003, 1:01 p.m. Sad Day for Free Speech The Supreme Court upholds McCain-Feingold: Scalia's dissent A Primary Document EDITOR'S NOTE: On Dec. 10, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling upholding the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in a 5-4 rulling. Among the 4 was Justice Antonin Scalia. We reprint his dissent below. JUSTICE SCALIA, concurring with respect to BCRA Titles III and IV, dissenting with respect to BCRA Titles I and V, and concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part with respect to BCRA Title II. With respect to Titles I, II, and V:...

<p>Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia ridiculed his court's recent ruling legalizing gay sex, telling an audience of conservative activists Thursday that the ruling ignores the Constitution in favor of a modern, liberal sensibility.</p> <p>The ruling, Scalia said, "held to be a constitutional right what had been a criminal offense at the time of the founding and for nearly 200 years thereafter."</p>

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia ridiculed his court's recent ruling legalizing gay sex, telling an audience of conservative activists Thursday that the ruling ignores the Constitution in favor of a modern, liberal sensibility. The ruling, Scalia said, "held to be a constitutional right what had been a criminal offense at the time of the founding and for nearly 200 years thereafter." Scalia adopted a mocking tone to read from the court's June ruling that struck down state antisodomy laws in Texas and elsewhere. Scalia wrote a bitter dissent in the gay sex case that was longer than the...

WASHINGTON -- They filled the second floor of the Capitol Hilton, rumpled soldiers of the academic left, lining up behind microphones, and well-groomed former Clinton officials, their arms extended in a perpetual handshake. The first convention of the American Constitution Society, devoted to connecting left-leaning law professors, politicians, and practicing attorneys, drew a crowd of 800 under a banner proclaiming ''Human Dignity, Individual Rights, and Genuine Equality.'' Founded to ''counter the conservative dominance of the law,'' the group aims to be a counterweight to the right-leaning Federalist Society, which over the last 20 years has promoted conservative thinkers, including scores...

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TEXAS, FOURTEENTH DISTRICT [June 26, 2003] JUSTICE SCALIA, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE and JUSTICE THOMAS join, dissenting. "Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt." Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, 505 U. S. 833, 844 (1992). That was the Court’s sententious response, barely more than a decade ago, to those seeking to overrule Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113 (1973). The Court’s response today, to those who have engaged in a 17-year crusade to overrule Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U. S. 186 (1986), is very...

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia complained Sunday that courts have gone overboard in keeping God out of government. Scalia, speaking at a religious ceremony, said the constitutional wall between church and state has been misinterpreted both by the Supreme Court and lower courts. As an example, he pointed to a ruling in California that barred students from saying the Pledge of Allegiance with the phrase "one nation under God." That appeals court decision is on hold pending further consideration by the same court, but the Supreme Court could eventually be asked to review the case. Scalia, the main speaker at...

Supreme Court Justice Addresses Wartime Constitutional Rights The Associated Press Published: Mar 18, 2003 UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) - The government has room to scale back individual rights during wartime without violating the Constitution, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Tuesday. "The Constitution just sets minimums," Scalia said after a speech at John Carroll University in suburban Cleveland. "Most of the rights that you enjoy go way beyond what the Constitution requires." Scalia, one of the court's most conservative judges, was responding to a question about the Justice Department's pursuit of terrorism suspects and whether their rights are being...

Now here's a dandy example of the kind of thing that never makes it to the front page or the top of the news broadcast, but that affects absolutely everyone. The Federal Communications Commission, led by Michael ("my religion is the market") Powell, is fixing to remove the last remaining barriers against concentration of media. This means one company can own all the radio stations, television stations, newspapers and cable systems in any given area. Presently, 10 companies own over 90 percent of the media outlets. Bill Kovach of the Committee of Concerned Journalists and Tom Rosenstiel of the Project...

  Crossing the Bar-The Column of the Legal Education Committee  Crossing the Bar--Innovating through Tradition: The Ave Maria School of Law by Francine Cullari  Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me.And may there be no moaning of the bar,When I put out to sea…I hope to see my Pilot face to face, When I have crost the bar.The title of this Legal Education Committee column has a number of applications to the law, but the first and last lines of Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar are particularly helpful in understanding the arrival of The Ave Maria School of Law...