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Antonin Scalia, a sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice, has died:
US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia - one of most conservative members of the high court - has died. Justice Scalia's death could shift the balance of power on the US high court, allowing President Barack Obama to add a fifth liberal justice to the court. The court's conservative majority has recently stalled major efforts by the Obama administration on climate change and immigration.
Justice Scalia, 79, was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. He died in his sleep early on Saturday while in West Texas for [a] hunting trip, the US Marshall service said. Justice Scalia was one of the most prominent proponents of "originalism" - a conservative legal philosophy that believes the US Constitution has a fixed meaning and does not change with the times.
Justice Scalia's death is, unsurprisingly, now being widely reported.
From the San Antonio Express News:
According to a report, Scalia arrived at the ranch on Friday and attended a private party with about 40 people. When he did not appear for breakfast, a person associated with the ranch went to his room and found a body.
[...] The U.S. Marshal Service, the Presidio County sheriff and the FBI were involved in the investigation. Officials with the law enforcement agencies declined to comment.
A federal official who asked not to be named said there was no evidence of foul play and it appeared that Scalia died of natural causes.
A gray Cadillac hearse pulled into the ranch last Saturday afternoon. The hearse came from Alpine Memorial Funeral Home.
Most major news outlets are covering this story, including CNN [video autoplays], The Washington Post, The New York Times, and NBC.
(Score: 5, Informative) by hemocyanin on Sunday February 14 2016, @12:04AM
Yeah, whatever. He had an agenda. For example, he would not uphold peyote use in Native American religious practices despite sincerely held religious belief, but let Hobby Lobby use sincerely held religious belief (in this case the same as his) to get out of covering the pill.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/scalia-v-scalia/361621/ [theatlantic.com]
Anyway, here's a complete list of his decisions with links to the text:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/author.php?Scalia [cornell.edu]
And yes -- I'm count myself amongst those glad to read his obit.
(Score: 3, Informative) by NotSanguine on Sunday February 14 2016, @12:08AM
Yeah, whatever. He had an agenda. For example, he would not uphold peyote use in Native American religious practices despite sincerely held religious belief, but let Hobby Lobby use sincerely held religious belief (in this case the same as his) to get out of covering the pill.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/scalia-v-scalia/361621/ [theatlantic.com]
Anyway, here's a complete list of his decisions with links to the text:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/author.php?Scalia [cornell.edu]
And yes -- I'm count myself amongst those glad to read his obit.
And while all that is true, and we may revile his views and his actions. He was still human, and I still have empathy for his family, who did and said none of those things.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2, Insightful) by r1348 on Sunday February 14 2016, @12:18AM
I believe we must summon a Speaker for the Dead.
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Sunday February 14 2016, @01:41AM
Good idea, were it possible--I suspect that we need a Speaker for divisive figures more than for most.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Sunday February 14 2016, @01:16AM
I'm not so sanguine that the passing of a dick like Scalia doesn't brighten my mood.
As for his family, my empathy is balanced by the far greater number he harmed and unless demonstrated otherwise, I'll presume his family was supportive of him.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 14 2016, @03:56AM
Because if they weren't, they should have killed him earlier, right?
</troll>
(Score: 2) by naubol on Sunday February 14 2016, @05:17AM
Publically eulogizing him as an awful man may heal many more wounds than the wounds they inflict on his family.