NPR: Scalia Talks to NPR

Scalia Talks to NPR

Filed under: News

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speaks at Roger Williams University Law School in Bristol, R.I., on April 7.

Stephan Savoia/AP

In the first of a planned three-part interview with NPR's, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia talks about his more than a quarter century on the nation's top bench.

Totenberg reports that Scalia has carried the conservative banner and often been in the minority. "Though he has failed to persuade a majority of his colleagues on many high-profile cases, supporters and critics alike agree that he has changed the terms of the debate," she writes.

She argues that Scalia and fellow conservative Clarence Thomas do not actually march in lockstep -- despite what liberal observers might say. For one thing, Scalia is far more reluctant to undo an old law.

"I'm an originalist and a textualist, not a nut," he tells her.

And no, he's not a likely running mate for John McCain.

Check it out: Justice Scalia, the Great Dissenter, Opens Up

Laura Conaway

1:01 PM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I can't believe the way you people rolled over for this twisted old relic. Only a person whose mind has been warped by a lifetime of legalistic mental gymnastics can buy into this type of sophistry. This man can rationalize anything.

Sent by Gary Leming | 11:31 PM ET | 04-28-2008

I'm not sure I understand exactly what Scalia means when he says he's an "Originalist", but I know the writers of the Constitution never envisioned automatic, armor-piecing weapons, automobiles, corporations having the rights of a human being, television and the Internet, among other things. The original framers of the Constitution meant that people had the right to own muzzle-loaded black-powder muskets, not AK-47s. And that people of color and women were not fully people. It's not a perfect document, but a work in progress. Scalia uses illogical, specious arguments to uphold the values of the Neo-Cons that put him in power. Not the values of the American people.

Sent by Julie Beardsley | 4:06 PM ET | 04-29-2008

This first "interview" was not an interview. It seemed to be Nina Totenberg's commentary with a few sound bytes (which NPR perports not to use). Ms. Totenberg is the NPR reporter I respect and like to listen to the most. She is fully capable of going one-on-one with Justice Scalia - but she aparently did not. He made several statements that begged for a followup, but she chose to let many of them go unexplained (or cut them to save time?). I agree with Mr. Leming - she seemed to "roll over ..." for Scalia.
It appeared that in many such interviews with right-wing politicians and power brokers NPR tries to be too nice knowing that they will not get a second interview if they are too tough and wanting to appear to be "balanced" in their reporting.

Sent by Burke Mitchell | 2:22 PM ET | 04-30-2008

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