Justice Scalia Goes to Wesleyan

Justice Scalia spoke recently at Wesleyan. How was the famously conservative justice received at this legendarily liberal university?

Here’s a concise description of the protests during Justice Scalia’s speech, from the Middletown Press:

Near the end of the speech, some of the demonstrators dropped banners from the balcony railing. One read, “There can be no justice in the court of the conqueror.”

The justice looked up and read it and quipped, “Oh, that’s very persuasive.”

About four students who were responsible for the act stood up and walked out.

Moments later, four students wearing orange prison jump suits and black hoods, like Guantanamo Bay suits and Abu Ghraib prisoners, stood up and stood silent. They were promptly escorted out.

And that was about it. Honestly, I was hoping for more drama.

Then Justice Scalia took audience questions. The first query concerned Bush v. Gore, and he repeated his usual mantra: “Get over it!” He did add, however, that “on the principal issue [of whether the Equal Protection Clause was violated], the vote was 7-2 — not even close.” The vote was 5-4 on the issue of remedy, which he described as “whether to give these people [a few more] weeks to sort out this mess” — during which the government would essentially be paralyzed, trapped in a state of limbo, unable to transition to the next presidential administration.

“The majority said, ‘Basta!’ And by and large, the county agreed.” (The “Basta!” line, which I hadn’t heard before, was met with a surprising amount of laughter from the Wesleyan crowd.)

With the effect of money on politics being such a hot topic these days, of course someone asked about campaign finance reform and free speech. Justice Scalia simply stated that there’s no historical indication that free speech rights should be denied to associations of people, which is essentially what corporations are. He added that Citizens United, far from upsetting the proverbial apple cart, simply overruled a six-year-old decision that had overruled Buckley v. Valeo, a precedent of much longer standing.

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One questioner asked about “judicial restraint.” Justice Scalia’s response reminded me of what some liberals say about “judicial activism”: “It’s a conclusory term.” He argued that notions of “judicial restraint” shouldn’t stop the courts from doing what they’re supposed to be doing, namely, striking down unconstitutional laws and upholding constitutional ones. “The question is whether the statute deserves to be struck down,” he said, not whether striking it down reflects judicial activism or judicial restraint. He reminded the audience that “there’s such a thing as an activist Congress as well as an activist Court,” so deferring to the enactments of Congress isn’t always the proper course for judges.

A student asked Justice Scalia for more examples of cases where his originalist philosophy led him to vote against his own policy preferences. The justice cited many of his rulings in criminal law, which have advanced the rights of defendants. He joked that even though he’s “a law-and-order conservative” in his personal views, he should be “a pinup for the criminal defense bar!”

Specifically, Justice Scalia touted his resurrection of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment, referring to Crawford v. Washington as “the opinion I’m most proud of.” He also mentioned BMW v. Gore. The Supreme Court’s placing limits on punitive damages was welcomed by many pro-business conservatives, but Justice Scalia dissented in that case, arguing that the Constitution does not speak to this issue.

All in all, Justice Scalia’s appearance at Wesleyan made for an excellent evening, enlightening and entertaining in equal (and ample) measure. The justice was high-spirited, quick-witted, and lively. He’ll be turning 76 on Sunday, but he exuded the energy of a much younger man.

Early wishes for a very happy birthday, Justice Scalia! And many happy returns.

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UPDATE (3/10/12): We have posted some photos and video from the protests.

Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia speaks at Wesleyan [Middletown Press]
Justice Scalia Meets A Show Of Protest At Wesleyan [Hartford Courant]