Justice Scalia does not have the judicial temperament to sit on the high
court. The issue is not his conservatism. To the victor go the
spoils. Elections matter. Republicans appoint conservatives to the
court, while Democrats seek progressive jurists. As an aside, a big
negative shout out to those Naderites who inadvertently have some
responsibility for the Citizens United decision.
Judicial temperament requires having an open mind. A judge must
approach issues without prejudging and without letting emotion overwhelm
reason. Importantly a judge must only consider those matters properly
before the court. When the justices were concerned about an issue not
covered in the Affordable Health Care case, they requested that the
issue be briefed and argued.
Justice Scalia's attack on the Obama executive order which defers
enforcement with respect to certain individuals who came to this county
as children, in the recent decision on the Arizona Immigration law, is
beyond the pale. The matter was neither argued nor briefed. The order
came after oral argument in the Arizona case. The ship of state is ill
served by this shot over the bough aimed at the Commander in Chief.
This was previously published. It is republished to consolidate all posts on this blog.
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