On the recordFebruary 23, 2016
on February 13 the Nation was shaken by the news that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had passed away. Justice Scalia served on the Nation's highest Court for 29 years, and he was a major figure on the American legal landscape. Justice Scalia was described by Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit as ``the most influential justice of the last quarter century.'' Over the years I came to know Justice Scalia. He was a man of great intellect, good humor, and he was a very social person. We certainly disagreed on many fundamental issues, but even those who disagreed with Justice Scalia on legal matters still admired him as a person. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg--no ideological ally of Justice Scalia-- wrote after his death, ``we were best buddies.'' She described him as ``a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh.'' Justice Ginsberg said she and Justice Scalia were ``different in our interpretation of written texts,'' but they were ``one in our reverence for the Constitution and the institution we serve.'' I have great respect for the decades Justice Scalia spent in public service. My thoughts and prayers clearly go with his family.…
