"I am a textualist, I am an originalist. I am not a nut." No one could have said it better than Justice Antonin Scalia had. Scalia, who died on Saturday at 79, has masterfully shaped the American legal thought and prodigiously championed the United States Constitution with the dignity, finesse and heart expected of an officer of the court.
Of the many things he is known for, Justice Antonin Scalia is the proverbial orginalist. He is an advocate of constitutional originalism-that the supreme law of the land should be read as it was "originally understood"; as how the founding fathers intended them to be.
Scalia has fervently reiterated that the Constitution is not a "living document" that should adapt to the great tides of social change. Before he was appointed as Supreme Court justice by former president Ronald Reagan, the U.S. high court obediently played by the rules of Justice William Brennan's idea of "contemporary ratification." This school of thought supposes that the interpretation of the Constitution must be amended according to the times.
Scalia was a devout advocate of originalism so much so that he even contradicted his own principles. This was evident in some of his most popular dissents, such as his vote to strike down laws against flag burning. Scalia ruled that the burning of the American flag is within the ambit of protected speech under the 1st Amendment, and therefore should not be criminalized.
"He was willing to follow the logic of his originalism wherever it led. He famously said that if a judge does not sometimes hand down rulings that go contrary to his own political judgment, then the judges are not being faithful to the Constitution," said Princeton University professor of jurisprudence Robert George in an interview with Here And Now.
In the Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia's originalism has superseded and far eclipsed Justice William Brennan's contemporary ratification.
But he subscribed to an almost juxtaposed view when construing statutes. In this regard, Scalia was largely a textualist. His was the doctrine of absoluta sentential expositore non indigent, that where the law is clear it should be taken as it is. He argued that one should obey the letter of the law and the letter alone.
He wields a most powerful force in defending the constitutional values he so passionately believed in and swore to protect that he was able to separate his personal predilections from his jurisprudential decisions. He spared no one in court, be it friend or foe, and even sometimes strongly dismissed the opinions of his fellow justices.
But while Scalia is known for his brute force of will he was considered as the Supreme Court's funniest member, The Wall Street Journal noted.
When asked about the controversial 2000 Bush v. Gore election case, Scalia candidly answered, "Oh, get over it. It's eight years ago."
Scalia has established a legacy so great and a name so influential that a Supreme Court without him is unimaginable. Certainly, Justice Antonin Scalia has departed from the court triumphantly, leaving behind the gift of clear constitutional vision and passion for the law.
