Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
is drawing fire from legal colleagues for his characterization of the U.S.
Constitution as a “dead” document – that is, judges should not take it upon
themselves to interpret its clauses via modern meanings.
“It’s not a living document,” Mr.
Scalia said Monday, during a Southern Methodist University appearance,
according to reports in the Dallas Morning News. “It’s dead, dead, dead.”
Mr. Scalia, a Ronald
Reagan-appointee, has always maintained an originalism view of the Constitution
– one that holds fast to the need to interpret the text as the Founding Fathers
intended at the time.
“I deny the premise that law has
nothing to do with historical inquiry,” he said, during an April 2010
appearance at the University of Virginia School of Law, according to postings
on the university’s website. “Historical inquiry has nothing to do with the law
only if the original meaning is irrelevant.”
On Tuesday, a day after Mr. Scalia
again emphasized that view, legal scholars scoffed.
“I think that it is a bit
disingenuous in that he, Scalia, understands that his personal views play an
important role in shaping and informing,” yet also says judges beliefs
shouldn’t be tainted by modern day events and culture, said Yale Law School
professor Peter Schuck told Politico.
Story originally posted here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/30/scalia-scoffed-claiming-constitution-dead-document/
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