from the Humanist magazine:
No Agenda? A Humanist View of Justice Scaliaby David Niose
Published in the March/April 2010 HumanistAt first glance Joan Biskupic appears almost ideally qualified to author a biography of Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court’s most vocal and controversial justice. An experienced reporter with legal credentials, Biskupic has covered the Supreme Court for two decades and is already the author of a well-received biography of Scalia’s former colleague Sandra Day O’Connor.
Yet as one begins to digest the details of Scalia’s saga, one realizes that a psychology degree, rather than a background in law and journalism, might be the better qualification for putting Scalia’s life and work in perspective. A qualified analyst, much more so than a legal scholar, could perhaps make sense of the seemingly inconsistent stew that is Scalia jurisprudence.
Like no other Supreme Court justice before or since, Scalia is famous (or infamous) for his uncompromising positions and combative style, his judicial opinions that often burst forth with brazenly injudicious rhetoric, and for his frequently sarcastic dismissal of opposing views. Indeed, Scalia’s reputation can perhaps be best summarized by the story of a visit Scalia made to a college campus, where he met with students after giving a speech. One student approached Scalia and mentioned that he had named his pet fish “Justice Scalia” in his honor. Someone nearby then asked, “Do you have other fish named after the other justices?”
“No,” the student replied. “Justice Scalia ate all the others.”
Scalia’s style certainly makes for interesting reading but, as Biskupic points out, it’s his role as a prime figure in building and defining conservative jurisprudence—which itself has helped fuel the conservative movement as a whole—that makes him an important subject for biography. From empowering the conservative Federalist Society in academia to playing the role of outspoken dissenter in his early days on the Court to now seeing many of his views adopted by one much more receptive to his arguments, Scalia has arguably done more than any other single person to move the United States to the right over the last quarter century. Phrases such as “activist judges” and “legislating from the bench” have become regular ammunition in the arsenal of conservative politicians, thanks in large part to the political marketability of Scalia’s judicial approach.
.....(snip).....
Within this framework there is little reason to think that young Nino, had he been born in a different time and place, would not have found great success in virtually any authoritarian environment, from the ecclesiastical environment of the Inquisition to the nationalistic and militaristic atmosphere of early twentieth-century Europe. It just so happens that he was born in modern America which, though at times hostile to his worldview, has ultimately proved to suit him and his views fairly well. As such, the humanist might ask:
What does that say about modern America? .........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/10_mar_apr/Niose.html
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