Antonin Scalia - Assessment

Assessment

In 2009, after nearly a quarter century on the Court, Scalia characterized his victories as "amn few". His biographer, Joan Biskupic, speculated that Scalia, health permitting, might remain on the Court for another decade.

Writing in The Forward, J.J. Goldberg described Scalia as "the intellectual anchor of the court's conservative majority". Scalia travels to the nation's law schools, giving talks on law and democracy. His appearances on college campuses are often standing room only. Ginsburg indicates that Scalia "is very much in tune with the current generation of law students ... Students now put 'Federalist Society' on their resumes." John Paul Stevens, who served throughout Scalia's tenure until his 2010 retirement; says of Scalia's influence, "He's made a huge difference. Some of it constructive, some of it unfortunate." Of the nine sitting justices, Scalia is most often the subject of law review articles.

Whereas Scalia is widely admired among conservatives, many liberals dislike his views. In March 2009, openly gay Congressman Barney Frank described Scalia as a "homophobe". Maureen Dowd described Scalia in a 2003 column as "Archie Bunker in a high-backed chair".

Rossum, writing in 2006, before George W. Bush appointees Roberts and Alito had time to make an impact, said that Scalia had failed to win converts among his conservative colleagues for his use of originalism. Roberts and Alito, however, are younger men who take an originalist approach and who greatly admire Scalia and how he battles for what he believes in.

Scalia's dislike of legislative history may be a reason why other justices have become more cautious in its use. Gregory Maggs wrote in the Public Interest Law Review in 1995 that by the early 1990s, legislative history was being cited in only about forty percent of Supreme Court cases involving the interpretation of statutes, and no case of that era used legislative history as an essential reason for the outcome. Maggs suggested,

With Justice Scalia breathing down the necks of anyone who peeks into the Congressional Record or Senate reports, the other members of the Court may have concluded that the benefit of citing legislative history does not outweigh its costs. It is likely for this reason that the percentage of cases citing it has decreased dramatically. No one likes an unnecessary fight, especially not one with as formidable an opponent as Justice Scalia.