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Justice Scalia Dies

Justice Scalia Dies

We have lost a great man and a great Justice.

Just Breaking:

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead of apparent natural causes Saturday on a luxury resort in West Texas, federal officials said.

Scalia, 79, was a guest at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a resort in the Big Bend region south of Marfa.
According to a report, Scalia arrived at the ranch on Friday and attended a private party with about 40 people. When he did not appear for breakfast, a person associated with the ranch went to his room and found a body.

Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, of the Western Judicial District of Texas, was notified about the death from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Justice Scalia leaves behind 28 grandchildren:

A selection of our prior posts about Justice Scalia (apart from dozens of posts about Supreme Court rulings):

Scalia always was the Happy Jurist, and Warrior.

This CBS interview was excellent:

Opinions

From his Dissent in the same-sex marraige case:

The substance of today’s decree is not of immense personal importance to me. The law can recognize as marriage whatever sexual attachments and living arrange- ments it wishes, and can accord them favorable civil consequences, from tax treatment to rights of inheritance. Those civil consequences—and the public approval that conferring the name of marriage evidences—can perhaps have adverse social effects, but no more adverse than the effects of many other controversial laws. So it is not of special importance to me what the law says about marriage. It is of overwhelming importance, however, who it is that rules me. Today’s decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court…..

It is one thing for separate con- curring or dissenting opinions to contain extravagances, even silly extravagances, of thought and expression; it is something else for the official opinion of the Court to do so.22 Of course the opinion’s showy profundities are often profoundly incoherent. “The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy, and spiritu- ality.”23 (Really? Who ever thought that intimacy and spirituality [whatever that means] were freedoms? And if intimacy is, one would think Freedom of Intimacy is abridged rather than expanded by marriage. Ask the nearest hippie…..

Hubris is sometimes defined as o’erweening pride; and pride, we know, goeth before a fall. The Judiciary is the “least dangerous” of the federal branches because it has “neither Force nor Will, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm” and the States, “even for the efficacy of its judgments.” With each decision of ours that takes from the People a question properly left to them—with each decision that is unabashedly based not on law, but on the “reasoned judgment” of a bare majority of this Court—we move one step closer to being reminded of our impotence.

And King v. Burwell (Obamacare II)

[T]he plain, obvious, and rational meaning of a statute is always to be preferred to any curious, narrow, hidden sense that nothing but the exigency of a hard case and the ingenuity and study of an acute and powerful intellect would discover.” Lynch v. Alworth-Stephens Co., 267 U. S. 364, 370 (1925)…Under all the usual rules of interpretation, in short, the Government should lose this case. But normal rules of interpretation seem always to yield to the overriding principle of the present Court: The Affordable Care Act must be saved…

…The somersaults of statutory interpretation [this Court has] performed (“penalty” means tax, “further [Medicaid] payments to the State” means only incremental Medicaid payments to the State, “established by the State” means not established by the State) will be cited by litigants endlessly, to the confusion of honest jurisprudence. And the cases will publish forever the discouraging truth that the Supreme Court of the United States favors some laws over others, and is prepared to do whatever it takes to uphold and assist its favorites….

We should start calling this law SCOTUScare.

And the 2012 Obamacare dissent:

For all these reasons, to say that the Individual Mandate merely imposes a tax is not to interpret the statute but to rewrite it. Judicial tax-writing is particularly troubling.  Taxes have never been popular, see, e.g., Stamp Act of 765, and in part for that reason, the Constitution  requires tax increases to originate in the House of Representatives.  See Art. I, §7, cl. 1. That is to say, they must originate in the legislative body most accountable to the people, where legislators must weigh the need for the tax against the terrible price they might pay at their next election, which is never more than two years off. The Federalist No. 58 “defend[ed] the decision to give the origination power to the House on the ground that the Chamber that is more accountable to the people should have the primary role in raising revenue.” United States v. Munoz-Flores, 495 U. S. 385, 395 (1990). We have no doubt that Congress knew precisely what it was doing when it rejected an earlier version of this legislation that imposed a tax instead of a requirement-with-penalty. See Affordable Health Care for America Act, H. R. 3962, 111th Cong., 1st Sess., §501 (2009); America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, S. 1796, 111th Cong., 1st Sess., §1301. Imposing a tax through judicial legislation inverts the constitutional scheme, and places the power to tax in the branch of government least accountable to the citizenry.

To say that the political implications are enormous is an understatement:

Majority Leader McConnell says wait until the NEXT president:

https://twitter.com/DRUDGE_REPORT/status/698649085801156608

Recess Appointment?

There are enormous implications for pending cases in which Scalia’s vote would have been critical:

Reactions are quickly rolling in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj60RDOy7cE

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/698636369229385728

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Comments

Terrible news. Lefties responding with their usual grace and dignity.

I will miss Justice Scalia. God help us.

Just waiting to see how McConnell and Ryan are going to roll over with the next nomination by his Barryness. It’s a horrible day when a true Constitutionalist passes.

    They’ll probably do so at his funeral.

    Every time McConnell’s grotesque face is shown on tv, the right loses thousands of votes.

    McTurtle and Lyin Ryan serve at our pleasure. Our pleasure is over. Why are they still getting paid?

    Even if you had some basis for supposing that McConnell would “roll over”, which you don’t, what the **** does Ryan have to do with it? What’s your excuse for slamming him?

What a loss for the SC and nation. Can’t imagine how ugly the fight will be over replacing him.

    BrokeGopher in reply to gulfbreeze. | February 13, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    With the spineless jellyfish we have? There won’t be a fight at all.

      gulfbreeze in reply to BrokeGopher. | February 13, 2016 at 6:48 pm

      24 out of 54 GOP Senate seats in play this fall (vs. only 10 of 44 Dem seats). If GOP voters don’t convince their Senators that there are consequences (and follow through with delivering them), they’ll get what they deserve.

        BrokeGopher in reply to gulfbreeze. | February 13, 2016 at 6:54 pm

        And that’s exactly why there will be no fight. They don’t want to be called obstructionists. They’re convinced the voters want them to get along. Zero chance they even attempt a filibuster, let alone vote down a nominee.

          Lady Penguin in reply to BrokeGopher. | February 13, 2016 at 7:14 pm

          No, I don’t think that the Senators who are up for re-election are just going to roll over to avoid being called obstructionists. The Republican Party has the energy this year, and turnout is up – that’s not going to change. So, if the Senators are stupid and confirm an Obama choice they’ll pay a heavy price come November.

          I’m praying, because that’s all I can do right now. So far, McConnell has said that the new president should be the one nominating the next Justice, and since 1880, in a divided Congress that’s the way they’ve done it.

          Milhouse in reply to BrokeGopher. | February 14, 2016 at 8:26 am

          Filibuster?! You’re just showing your ignorance. How can a majority filibuster? A filibuster is by definition an act of piracy by the minority against the majority. The majority can’t filibuster, any more than you can trespass on your own property.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

Now, can the Senate hold out for a year?

We’re screwed. Game over. No way do the Senate republicans have the spine to block Obama’s far left nominees for 11 months. I’ll miss living in America.

Awful news of a great man.
Bow your head and mourn.
But be ready to fight

America has lost one of the few remaining men of quality – and a nightmare of unparalleled proportion may be on the horizon.

How could the pronouncement of ‘natural causes’ occur so fast?

Barky’s wet dream?

Trust no one.

Breaking: Buckwheat appoints Ted Cruz to the Supreme Court.

Humphrey's Executor | February 13, 2016 at 5:47 pm

He died with his boots on.

Totally devastated! Rest in peace deat Justice Scalia.

One of the finest legal minds to ever sit on the Bench let alone SCOTUS.

The weak kneed sisters in the Greatest Little Whorehouse on the Potomac are going to fold like a deck of old cards and rush to avoid a ‘Constitutional Crisis’. Looks for the usual Socialists to be foisted upon a once great country.

So tonight Obama appoints a recess appointment and swears him in. How long could it take to go through the courts to have him removed? How much could a recess appointment destroy?

    Milhouse in reply to Notanymore. | February 14, 2016 at 8:33 am

    He couldn’t get away with making a recess appointment without even trying to make a nomination first. And you can be sure that for the rest of the year there will be no more recesses.

Two years ago, I attended a lawyers symposium to honor the 225th anniversary of the Constitution. Justice Scalia spoke. His insight into his thinking and Constitutional Law was so simplistic yet so genius. The lady next to me was a lefty. She was impressed. I reminded her that Justice Scalia’s best friend on the Court was Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
There is so much about that speech I remember and I am truly blessed to have heard a great man speak.

I think we now know how important this election is ……

I’m mixed about this.
Not in the sadness I feel about his passing, This will have major political ramifications, and I am ambivalent about whether to morn or contemplate the political repercussions.

IIRC they are midterm right now. Does anyone know what happens to their cases?

RIP Scalia.

It’s Too bad the Republican Senate will cave and give Obama another Sotomayor.
The executive Amnesty is up for hearing. With Scalia dead, does this mean the flood starts in June?

Watch for pressure to be applied to Ginsberg and Breyer to step down to allow younger justices to “cement” the liberal legacy of the court under Obama. The GOPe will rubber stamp any nomination to terminally limit the conservative movement in the party. The future is thus directed to the left of center (at least). Justice Roberts is as valuable as last week’s newspaper and will only be given print if he sides with the 5 members of the Left portion of the Court. Franklin was right…. we had a republic… if we could keep it… but many are selling the birthright for a few babbles today…

    Milhouse in reply to alaskabob. | February 14, 2016 at 8:38 am

    On the contrary, pressure will be put on them not to resign until Scalia is replaced, which isn’t going to happen this year. If one of them resigns the remaining conservatives get back their majority.

I know people are divided on their choice of candidates.

But there is one non-negotiable if you claim to be for the restoration of our Republic.

The next president MUST have a demonstrable knowledge and appreciation for Constitutional Restraints (i.e., no abuse of Executive Orders) to ensure the principle of Checks and Balance, Separation of Powers are upheld.

RIP Scalia. You were a true vanguard of this Nation’s First Principles

MaggotAtBroadAndWall | February 13, 2016 at 7:34 pm

Just saw a video a couple of days ago put out by a local news station in Texas because Scalia was there for some event. He, along with his security entourage, stopped into a local barber shop so he could get a trim. He already knew the barber’s full name and when he walked in the door Scalia asked to see him by name. It probably made a lifetime memory for a man of Scalia’s stature to walk into his humble shop and ask for the barber by name to give him a haircut. The barber got a picture of him to hang on his mirror, which was part of the video. Scalia was smiling his big broad smile and looked perfectly fine. You never know when your number will be called.

Hope God takes good care of his soul and enjoys his wit and sense of humor as much as we did. Sad day for Scalia’s family and for the nation.

A complete disaster. Leave it to Obama to ram another flaming leftist in so he can fulfill his wet dream of destroying the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If the spineless Repubs don’t try to stall and run out the clock til the next President gets in, look for a full frontal assault on the 2A.

    They are not spineless, and they don’t need to stall. They are the majority, so they can just vote down whomever the president nominates. And the next one as well. And the third one, in the unlikely event that there’s time for a third one. Each one will take a few months for hearings, and there’s just no way that 0bama will nominate anyone acceptable to any of the Rs.

Obama couldn’t even take two minutes to put a tie on.

The man has no class.

Justice Scalia Dies

The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

God must be very, very angry at America’s decadence.

He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by raining down burning sulfer. This time, he’s standing out of the way and letting modern-day Gomorrah destroy itself. We can only hope that when Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and their democrat ilk run off to the safety of their private islands, they turn back for one last look at America and turn into pillars of salt. Then again, that beats being the pillars of sh-t they are now.

Holy crap – Shirley Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church might be right!

The lower courts have been busy burying Heller for years. An Obama appointment would the final nail in the coffin of the 2nd Amendment.

    Milhouse in reply to randian. | February 14, 2016 at 8:43 am

    Anyone 0bama nominates will certainly be an enemy of the 2A, but for that very reason she )and it will almost certainly be a she) will have no chance of confirmation.