FedSoc, the annual gathering of elite, libertarian and conservative attorneys and scholars adjourned Saturday evening with the most fitting of panels: A celebration of the life of Justice Antonin Scalia, via discussion of the newly-published book Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and a Life Well-Lived, edited by one of the justice’s children, Christopher Scalia, and Ed Whelan, a former law clerk. In addition to Scalia and Whelan, the panel also included two other former clerks, Professor Rachel Barkow, and Judge Amy Coney Barrett — who was recently confirmed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals after a controversial hearing. The panel’s moderator, Judge Jeffrey Sutton, was also a former Scalia clerk.
Per the title, Scalia Speaks is a compilation of speeches Scalia gave and each panel member described their favorite two speeches and why. Both Barrett and Barkow said they could hear the justice’s voice in their head as they read passages, and were often reminded of conversations they’d had with him while they were clerking. Barkow commented that Scalia often spoke of values he admired which, not unsurprisingly, were values he also possessed. “At Scalia’s core were character and decency and honor — no matter what,” she said.
Because most attorneys know him for his legal opinions, particularly his biting dissents, and the rest of the public likely isn’t aware of his speeches, this book shows the reader the breadth of Scalia’s interests, from law and politics to literature and music. On the panel, Christopher Scalia recalled that his favorite speech he discovered, while reading hundreds of his father’s, was one he gave to the Julliard School, as much because of the unique context as the speech itself. The justice recognized he was on a unique panel at Julliard, of which he was the only jurist, but instead of remaining mum or sounding like a braggart, he appealed to their shared love of the arts while at the same time challenging preconceived notions about free speech. This personified Scalia the jurist and the man: He loved to argue, but as a means of identifying truth–and he won over many skeptics because of his humor, decency, and intellect.
Judge Sutton closed by asking the panel if there were any private jokes among Justice Scalia and his clerks. Barkow responded Scalia would often say, of the numerous clerks who had passed through his office, they were “forgotten, but not gone.” The crowd chuckled at Scalia’s reputable wit. It’s worth noting that 180 clerks attended his funeral and when he lay in repose at the Supreme Court, his casket was surrounded, at all times, by a handful of clerks who rotated. The honor guard they formed outside his steps was a moving reminder of both how long the justice had served (about 30 years) and how many people he influenced. It seemed apropos two years following the death of the justice, and one year after FedSoc honored Scalia with an entire weekend examining his legal opinions, the same conference would close with a panel warmly and wistfully remembering the legacy of a man so many still miss.
Nicole Russell is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist in Washington, D.C., who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota. She was the 2010 recipient of the American Spectator’s Young Journalist Award.
If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.
