Justice Antonin Scalia, in additional to being a conservative colossus on the Supreme Court, was known for an acerbic wit and biting analysis.
Scalia was respected as a keen intellect across partisan lines; one of his best friends was liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Still, his analysis of course didn’t always please.
Here are seven of his most notable takes:
1. “I don’t assess the nation’s mood, I assess my own, and I’m feeling good.” — Remarks at the Columbus Citizens Foundation dinner, Oct. 8, 2005.
2. “On controversial issues on stuff like homosexual rights, abortion, we [citizens] debate with each other and persuade each other and vote on it — either our representatives or through a constitutional amendment in the states. Whether it’s good or bad idea is not what I’m talking about, that’s not my job … I apply the limitations upon democracy that the American people have adopted.” — Remarks at ACLU symposium, Oct. 16, 2006.
3. On why he became a lawyer: “I had an Uncle Vince — most Italians have an Uncle Vince — who was a lawyer. And he seemed to have a good life so I thought I’d give it a shot. And it turns out it was what I loved. Don’t do it if you don’t love it, it’s not the most exciting profession unless you love the process, you love words.” — Remarks before Virginia high school students, April 9, 2008.
4. “A journalistic purpose could be someone with a Xerox machine in a basement.” — Oral argument in Los Angeles Police Department v. United Reporting Publishing Corporation (1999, U.S. Supreme Court).
5. “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.” — Remarks before Philadelphia Bar Assn., April 29, 2004.
6. “What is a ‘moderate’ interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you’d like it to mean?” — Remarks before Woodrow Wilson Center, March 14, 2005.
7. On life tenure for judges: “So long as you stay awake on the bench and don’t drool, there’s nothing they can do about it.” — Remarks at Supreme Court Fellows event, Jan. 26, 2012.
