[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1341-S1342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA
Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, Antonin Scalia entered the world
as the son and grandson of Italian immigrants in 1936. When he
unexpectedly departed this life last month, he was the patriarch of a
large American family and the intellectual father of the most important
legal movement in generations. Between those points, he lived an
extraordinarily full life that helped shaped the course of our country.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S1341, March 8, 2016, in the middle of the first column,
the following language appears: REMEMBERING JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA
Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, . . .
The online Record has been corrected to read: REMEMBERING
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, . . .
========================= END NOTE =========================
By 1980, Scalia had already accomplished more at the age of 44 than
most can ever hope to in a lifetime. He had been a distinguished
lawyer, served at the highest levels of the government, and taught at
the country's best law schools. He might have continued to develop a
reputation as the Nation's brightest law professor and scholar, but
providence had still more to ask of him.
Upon his election, President Ronald Reagan came to Washington with a
mission to restore a country that seemed divided and in decline. He
promised to rebuild our military, revive our economy, and restore our
sense of purpose. Just as critical as these efforts, Reagan was
determined to bring new life to our Founders' vision of our
Constitution, which provided for carefully limited government,
separation of powers, and the rule of law. In accordance with that
determination, Reagan appointed Scalia first to the critical D.C.
Circuit Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court of the United
States. The three-decade judicial career that followed would establish
Justice Scalia as one of the most influential American jurists--and one
of the most consequential Americans--in our Nation's history.
The Federal judiciary that Scalia joined in 1982 had, for too long,
both abused and shirked its proper role. It had stripped the American
people and their elected representatives of their legitimate powers by
inventing brand-new ``constitutional rights'' practically out of thin
air. Just as troubling, it had failed to uphold the very real
constitutional limits on government. The courts too often treated the
text of statutes as mere suggestions and often appointed themselves as
a kind of super-legislature.
Scalia would not stand for this. He saw this prevailing approach of
judges as an abuse of power and a threat to a free and self-governing
people. For Scalia, the rule of law was the touchstone of liberty, and
judges had an important role in upholding it. He understood that
America has a written Constitution for clear reasons: to restrict
government and preserve liberty. As a judge, Scalia insisted that the
Constitution be applied as written and originally understood, not
freely interpreted by unelected judges. If the Constitution must
change, as it has needed to throughout our history, the document itself
offers an amendment process.
Justice Scalia had a sharp and well-articulated legal philosophy that
put the text and meaning of the Constitution and law front and center.
A judge, Scalia believed, must put aside his policy preferences in
order to say what the law is. ``The judge who always likes the results
he reaches is a bad judge,'' he said.
Justice Scalia lived out this approach on the bench. His majority
opinions established clear and well-articulated precedents. His sharp
and colorful dissents brilliantly exposed moments when too many of his
colleagues preferred to put policy preferences and outcomes above the
Constitution and the rule of law. For conservatives, the words ``Scalia
dissents'' always offered a silver lining--they meant that a likely
damaging legal precedent would at least come prepackaged with a
wonderfully readable corrective.
Whether he was on the majority or minority side of a decision, the
forceful logic and clear phrasing of Scalia's opinions commanded
attention and engagement. Over time, his most reliable intellectual
adversaries found themselves increasingly forced to fight on the ground
he established. While Justice Scalia did not win every argument, he
changed the conversation forever. Judicial activism no longer has a
free hand because Scalia challenged it and inspired an entire
generation of legal minds to follow his example.
His judicial writing alone would have changed American law and
advanced the cause of liberty, but Justice Scalia went further than
that. He wrote books, lectured, and mentored students. He traveled
around the country, engaged the media, and debated colleagues and
critics. His many law clerks now distinguish themselves throughout the
legal profession. The Federalist Society, which he helped nurture in
its fledgling years, now provides a lively forum for a variety of
conservative and libertarian perspectives on law. Antonin Scalia has
left us a legal culture absolutely transformed from the one he found.
Justice Scalia's judicial opinions, legal philosophy, and forceful
advocacy for the rule of law inspired me as a law student and continue
to inspire me to this day. While a wide array of life experiences and
values have shaped the way I see America and the world, Antonin Scalia
has been the single most important influence on my view of the
Constitution and the proper role of judges in our Republic as men and
women who should put the original meaning of our Constitution ahead of
their policy preferences.
Justice Scalia's life is a testimony to the fact that ideas matter.
It is proof that a person of principle, with the willingness to invest
in debate and persuasion, can change history. His life also reminds us
of another important truth. Particularly in these sharply divided
partisan times, we can lose sight of the fact that the things that
unite us are more important than the things that divide us. Justice
Scalia never did. He knew the Constitution was his sole guide in his
professional life, but he was also a devout Catholic who accepted that
God has a plan for all of us. He took evident joy in living out his
faith, in loving his family, and in nurturing countless friendships,
even with his ideological foes. We should all be grateful that God's
plan for our Nation, especially the people whose paths he crossed,
included having Justice Scalia on the Court for the past 30 years. He
was a role model for all of us and particularly for Christians in
public life.
As a U.S. Senator, I led a bipartisan group of colleagues in filing
an amicus brief in the Supreme Court. The brief, submitted in the case
of Town of Greece v. Galloway, defended the practice of legislative
prayer. It argued that the original meaning of the First Amendment
clearly did not require the purging of religious expression from the
public square. I attended the oral argument in the case and will
forever be grateful for having had the opportunity to watch Justice
Scalia's sharp and incisive questioning from the bench.
Although I did not have the good fortune to get to know Justice
Scalia personally, he had a profound impact on me. All those who
cherish the Constitution and limited government mourn this great loss.
Justice Scalia was a brilliant legal mind who served with honor,
distinction, and only one legal objective: to interpret and defend the
Constitution as written. He is a model for exactly what his successor
and all future Justices should strive to be on the highest Court in the
land.
[[Page S1342]]
Antonin Scalia left us far too soon, but his legacy will remain with
us as long as we remain a republic under law.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S1342, March 8, 2016, at the top of the first column,
the following language appears: REMEMBERING JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA
. . . a republic under law.
The online Record has been corrected to read: . . . a republic under
law.
========================= END NOTE =========================
Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, it is an honor to pay tribute to the
late Justice Antonin Scalia. Justice Scalia was a staunch defender of
the Constitution who, above all, sought to uphold the original meaning
of its text. He steadfastly adhered to his oath of office, which
directed him to ``administer justice without respect to persons, [to]
do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and [to] faithfully and
impartially discharge and perform all [his] duties . . . under the
Constitution and laws of the United States.'' In doing so, he
recognized this approach to judicial interpretation might conflict with
popular opinion. As Justice Scalia once stated: ``If you're going to be
a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that
you're not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like
them all the time, you're probably doing something wrong.''
A few years ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Supreme Court to
listen to oral arguments in the case of National Labor Relations Board
v. Noel Canning, which concerned the scope of the President's authority
to make recess appointments. I recall being struck by Justice Scalia's
probing questions and his ability to immediately get to the crux of an
issue; yet Justice Scalia never lacked civility when making an
argument. As he once said, ``I attack ideas. I don't attack people. And
some very good people have some very bad ideas.''
Justice Scalia was known for more than his jurisprudence. The son of
immigrants and the first Italian American to serve on the Supreme
Court, he is remembered by many for his strong belief in the American
dream. A former law clerk recalled how he introduced Justice Scalia to
his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. The clerk's grandfather was
nervous to meet a member of the Court, but Scalia embraced the man. He
said he was honored to meet a man who represented everything that made
him proud to be an American.
Justice Scalia was also a loving husband to Maureen, his wife of 56
years, and the father of nine children and many grandchildren. Scalia
often noted that his wife deserved all the credit for their children's
accomplishments. Each year, the ranks of Scalia alumni would grow, and
he would visit with each of them and their families, even nicknaming
their children as his ``grandclerks.'' Justice Scalia was also a man of
faith and looked to the Roman Catholic Church as a guiding force in his
life. One of the Justice's former law clerks recalled that Scalia's
faith inspired the clerk to deepen his own embrace of religion.
Scalia loved hunting, the opera, anchovy pizza, and red wine. He was
known for taking law clerks to lunch at A.V. Ristorante, an Italian
restaurant in Washington that has since closed down. He insisted they
order anchovy pizza and red wine, and he was said to be dismayed when a
clerk declined one or the other. After A.V. Ristorante closed, he would
lead clerks in a hunt for a worthy replacement.
Of course, as Justice Breyer once noted, Justice Scalia ``loved
nothing better than a great argument.'' Although he frequently
disagreed with his colleagues on the Court, Justice Scalia formed deep
bonds and friendships with his fellow Justices and respected their
views. As Justice Breyer recalled:
We both would hope that the audience of students or
senators would leave not with a better sense of who was
right, but with a greater respect for the institution we
represented. They would see that sometimes we disagreed, that
we nonetheless understood and paid attention to each other's
points of view, that those views were serious views, and that
we were friends. And we were good friends.
When Justice Elena Kagan joined the Supreme Court the two became
hunting buddies. A few times a year, they would go hunting together to
enjoy a shared appreciation for this sport. But it was his deep
friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was well known to
many. She stated recently: ``How blessed I was to have a friend of such
brilliance, high spirits, and quick wit . . . we were different, yes,
yet one in our reverence for the court and its place in the U.S. system
of governance.''
Justice Scalia will be remembered for his brilliant legal mind and
faithful dedication to the Constitution. We will also remember his
humor, his spirituality, his love for his family, and his ability to
find common ground even in the face of disagreement. Let us pray for
his family and friends as we proudly celebrate his service to our
country.
Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, on February 13, 2016, the Supreme
Court not only lost one of its Justices, our Nation lost a true legal
giant.
Justice Antonin Scalia was described by his colleagues as
``extraordinary,'' ``treasured,'' and ``a stylistic genius.'' Beyond
his unwavering dedication to upholding the originalist viewpoint of the
Constitution, Justice Scalia was also whole-heartedly committed to his
family. He was a husband, father of nine, and grandfather to 36
grandchildren. His son Paul said of him during his homily that ``God
blessed Dad with a love for his family . . . He was the father that God
gave us for the great adventure of family life . . . He loved us, and
sought to show that love. And sought to share the blessing of the faith
he treasured. And he gave us one another, to have each other for
support. That's the greatest wealth parents can bestow, and right now
we are particularly grateful for it.''
Justice Scalia was nominated to the United States Supreme Court in
1986 by President Reagan and was confirmed by the Senate in a unanimous
vote. While his time on the Court often led to criticism of his legal
opinions and colorful dissents, he remained respected by his
colleagues, even those at the opposite end of the judicial spectrum.
This is a sign of true character--to have the ability to have an open,
honest debate about a particular issue, while respecting the individual
person holding an opinion different from your own.
Justice Scalia said, ``I attack ideas. I don't attack people. And
some very good people have some very bad ideas. And if you can't
separate the two, you gotta get another day job.''
This sentiment was best portrayed through his friendship with Justice
Ginsburg. Of her friend, she said, ``We are different, we are one.
Different in our interpretation of written texts, one in our reverence
for the Constitution and the institution we serve. From our years
together at the D.C. Circuit, we were best buddies. We disagreed now
and then, but when I wrote for the Court and received a Scalia dissent,
the opinion ultimately released was notably better than my initial
circulation.''
Justice Scalia was known for his wit and sarcasm in his writings,
famously referring to the legal interpretations of his colleagues as
``jiggery-pokery,'' ``pure applesauce,'' and ``a ghoul in a late horror
movie.'' Yet it was these same criticisms that Justice Ginsburg said
nailed the weak spots in her opinions and gave her what she needed to
strengthen her writings.
Justice Scalia represented a consistent, constitutional voice on the
Court. Just as the Constitution is a pillar of our legal system, so too
was his affirmation to this foundational document of our Nation.
He said, ``It is an enduring Constitution that I want to
defend...It's what did the words mean to the people who ratified the
Bill of Rights or who ratified the Constitution, as opposed to what
people today would like.''
As Justice Kennedy said, ``In years to come any history of the
Supreme Court will, and must, recount the wisdom, scholarship, and
technical brilliance that Justice Scalia brought to the Court. His
insistence on demanding standards shaped the work of the Court in its
private discussions, its oral arguments, and its written opinions. Yet
these historic achievements are all the more impressive and compelling
because the foundations of Justice Scalia's jurisprudence, the driving
force in all his work, and his powerful personality were shaped by an
unyielding commitment to the Constitution of the United States and to
the highest ethical and moral standards.''
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