U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
While guest-lecturing students at Southern Methodist University Law School Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may have shocked some in the audience when he was asked, “Is the Constitution a living document, one which evolves with the times?”
“It is not a living document; it is dead, dead, dead!” he said, according to MSNBC.
One paradox, from the standpoint of a Supreme Court justice, is that while his political views may continue to evolve, the Constitution must always remain rigid, resolute.
“The judge who always likes the results he reaches is a bad judge,” Scalia told the students.
Scalia, appointed to the Supreme Court by then-President Ronald Reagan, is regarded as one of the more conservative of its members. As such, his views have often been questioned. According to MSNBC:
In December of 2012, a gay Princeton student challenged Justice Scalia on his legal writings on homosexuality. The student asked Scalia to defend his legal comparison of the bans on sodomy to those on bestiality, murder and incest. “If we cannot have moral feelings against or objections to homosexuality, can we have it against anything?” Scalia said in response.
Scalia clarified that he was not equating sodomy with bestiality or murder, but was presenting parallels between the two bans.
Carrying this further, I equate the U.S. Constitution to a more ancient document — the Ten Commandments.
If the Ten Commandments were a living document, it would probably read something like this:
“Thou shalt not steal, except in the interest of ‘fairness.’”
“Thou shalt not kill — unless the bastard really had it coming.”
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife — unless, of course, she’s really, really hot and you’re both willing.”
See what I mean? All of a sudden rules are no longer rules — they’re suggestions.
The point is, if society is to remain strong and actually stand for something, it must have a core — a foundation — made of rock, not quicksand.
We may not always like an unbending Constitution, just like we may not always like a literal translation of the Ten Commandments. But we’ll always know what the hell it means. That’s why Scalia is right — “the Constitution is dead, dead, dead.”
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Some things are not up for “a new point of view.” That’s why they are called “laws.” Every anti-constitutional elected representative in every venue (local, state & federal) of politics should either resign or be recalled. They have betrayed their oaths of office from the start!
And, for sure, there should be no amendments to the Constitution because those dudes were like Moses or some other imaginary friend who had stuff etched into stone from the sky and the world has not changed since then. We should get rid of the amendments we already have because who cares about blacks, women, and other lesser beasts anyway. This country was created so that rich, white men with lots of guns can do whatever they want. Let’s keep it that way!
why is it that when someone says that these are the rules and are set in stone with changes only done by vote which our fore fathers laid out how to change the constitution the left brings up racism and bigitry equal rights these were not changed by presidential decree but by a system put in place by the forefathers
Oh grow up seazen!
I know lets do away with the constitution so that the Gov’t can come in and take and give as they please. If that’s what you like then move to China! It really works well for them….You liberals are pathetic, anything remotely connected to the Bible you want censored, and liberals are supposed to be about tolerance, you only tolerate people when they have the same opinions as you, if you disagree with a liberal then you are a racist, hate monger, and only care about the rich. I have never gotten a job from a poor man, recently when the Gov’t socked my company with more taxes, my hours got cut, and two people got laid off at my shop, you know what’s funny about this, the owner of my company is still rich but we people in the middle class are the ones that are getting hurt by the tax increases on these businesses, you really think that these companies aren’t going to pass on the tax increases to the consumer, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND AND WAKE UP, I HOPE YOUR A$$ GETS LAID OFF NEXT, if you aren’t already laid off drawing food stamps like the 50 million other liberals that voted for Obumer, His policies really work. Unemployment higher than when he took office, GDP at 2%, 50 million people on foodstamps, trillion dollar deficits every year since he took office, Yep its working, it’s destroying this country and you people are cheering him on.
@ Seazen, Off in your fantasy land again, eh? Let us know when you catch a glimpse of reality. Never mind, just stay on you little fantasy island!
Seazen is an example of the “low information voter.” Scalia makes his point very well. Of course, the Constitution is a living document because the Founders in their wisdom (which is way over the heads of low information voters) allowed for the amendment process to always be adjsuted as necessary with changing times, new information and different cirumstances. .
If the Constitution is “dead,dead, dead”, like Justice Scalia said, what exactly is he doing? His job is to largely interpret the constitionality of laws and law briefs. He is also in a position to best defend the proposed application of the Constitution to the laws of the United States. It sounds like Justice Scalia has done his part in helping put this vital document in the ground. HIs consistently conservative interpretation of the core document to this country. The Citizens United decision is one of the most critical. Look at the effect on this last election. Billions of dollars, on both sides, spend to “buy” the election. Some heavy hitter billionaires (Koch, Adelson) lavishly showered cash on candidates that you could say were bought and paid for, not for the public good, but the private interest. They, I believe, were trying to buy this country back to the feudal system they had in Europe for hundreds of years. Is the Justice thinks the Constitution is dead, he has been pulling the plug. Just sayhing.
Ted, your just sayin is JUST absurd!
The constitution is dying. It is up to the American people to fight for what it represents and bring it back to life. We need to instill values and morals in our families and to take away the control of Washington by special interests. Our government should be of the people and by the people not corporations as the Supreme Court has so ordained. I know I have done my best and continue to do so. When it is my time to go and if I see our forefathers in that heavenly place I can look them straight in the eye.
I noticed the story was written “according to MSNBC”. Well I don’t believe of word of it…..
It’s really Scalia’s brain that’s dead dead dead, he’s an insult to American justice.
Did you read. It says. “According to MSNBC:” i dont believe a word they say..
RU, you amaze me with your constant displays of your profound ignorance, which you cherish like a piece of gold.
Scalia is a “textualist”, which means that he believes that the text of the Constitution simply means what it says. You don’t insert meanings in that aren’t thee, like the phamtom “right to privacy” for abortion, that is aborogated at every turn by leftists in ever other area of life.
He believes that the Founding Fathers created a wonderfully interwoven document with one overarching purpose… The preservation of freedom for all (including those in the womb), and the intrusion of tyranny. He is faithful to the vision of the Founders, which gave us the most remarkable document ever created, and it was to protect this country from immature, venal, selfish, sanctimonious twits like you.
Lady Liberty is an apt name for her comments so reflect the freedom with responsibility message and actions of our Founders. RU is just another example of the low information voter. He won’t get it. Scalia will go down in history as one of the greatest Justices for Freedom and for Revernce and Fidelity to the basic document of freedom, our Constitution.
The PROGRESSIVES, a.k.a. Liberal Democrats, started interpreting the Constitution as a “Living Document” open to the “mood of the day” feelings of the Supreme Court starting with Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The PROGRESSIVES have been out to change the meaning of the Constitution for a hundred years. I like Scalia’s analogy to the Ten Commandments. The PROGRESSIVES would change the Ten Commandments to 7 Commandments and 3 Suggestions.
But lets not forget that the first President to put the Constitution on hold was a Republican. We are not protected by party any more than we are by a piece of paper.
The Constitution of the United States of America is alive and well, one day not to far in the future Justice Scalia will die and our Constitution will live on and be better off after he is dead and gone, His name will be a pox on the lips of those who try to keep his memory alive.
Typical hateful comment from one who has no argument, just hate. RonSr is, no doubt, an Obama low information voter who has probably never read the constitution.
The US Federal Government rules in Anarchy. They do not obey they laws thus Anarchy. True Anarchy is people living without government and is typically peaceful – like nature, with moments where injustice occur. Government in Anarchy is otherwise known as Tyranny and it is what exists today where peaceful people endure injustice at the hands of the ruling class. The Constitution is ignored and thus basically dead.
Here is something to think about: The Constitution is the foundation of this country. It is what sets the United States apart from the rest of the world. If it is treated as a document to be interpreted based on the present whims of a majority, then there is not an absolute guide. If this is the case and the Constitution is subject to change then all the laws that are out there for society to abide by are also merely suggestions and are not enforceable. If you have a law against murder there are specific consequences to the act performed. If it is suggested that one should not murder, then there is no restraint and no true consequences. Just because people disagree or do not like something does not mean that it is outdated. The three branches of government take an oath to uphold and defend the Consitution of the United States. That does not give them license to circumvent or otherwise nullify it simply because it does not fit the current social desires or morality. The warning I can give is once one part of the Constitution is shredded and removed, the rest will follow and this country will fall to dictatorship and probably despotism. Already we have members in government and high places that show a disregard for their constituents and society in general. If we do not ‘HOLD ON’ in this moment of our history, our children will not have a safe place to live.