Scalia at Stetson praises original intent view of Constitution

By CHRIS TISCH
Published April 5, 2007

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GULFPORT - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia acknowledges so-called constitutional originalists like him are the minority.

But he thinks the group is growing.

In a speech to students and faculty members at Stetson University College of Law Wednesday, Scalia criticized those who believe the U.S. Constitution is a living document that can be re-interpreted over time.

"The Constitution is not a living organism for Pete's sake," an often witty Scalia told an audience of several hundred people. "It's a legal document.

Referring to the chief justice who wrote the landmark Marbury vs. Madison opinion in 1803, Scalia said, "If you told John Marshall that the Constitution morphed ... he would be unbelieving."

Scalia said we should rely on the bare text of the Constitution and its intent when written rather than expect the justices on the high court to breathe their opinions into the document.

"If you want to be governed by an aristocracy, there are better aristocracies than nine lawyers," he said.

Scalia applied that thinking to the death penalty, which has been derailed in Florida and other states because of concerns about the constitutionality of lethal injection.

Scalia said the Founding Fathers did not consider death sentences to be unconstitutional.

"The death penalty was not considered cruel and unusual punishment," he said. "There's no doubt about it.

"Now it may be a very bad idea," he added. "And if the people want to change it, nothing in the Constitution requires that you have the death penalty. But that's quite a different question from whether your Supreme Court ... can decide for the whole country that the death penalty is no longer permitted."

The conservative justice, appointed by President Ronald Reagan and approved by a 98-0 vote in the Senate, said he also believes politics has infected the confirmation process too much: "I wouldn't get 60 votes today."