Justice Antonin Scalia

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Justice Antonin Scalia's belief that the Constitution is the only instrument justices have at their disposal and if an issue is not clearly addressed within that body of text, then justices are not supposed to make a decision. The paper discusses changes in science, medicine and society since the writing of the original Constitution. The paper contends that because of changing issues today, Scalia's views will continue to distance the judicial bodies and will eventually render the judicial system obsolete.

Outline:
Introduction
The Man
The Judge
Why It Won't Work
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Since the inception of the United States, the Constitution has provided a blueprint of provisions that have been the backbone of many thousands of judicial, political and ethical decisions. The judicial system within this country is such that when cases are appealed to the supreme court those who sit on that court hold the question of the case against the constitution to determine whether any rights have been violated. For the past few years there have been debates about the "livability" of the constitution. One school of thought is that the constitution as it stands is out of date and that there are issues in current society of which the founding fathers could never have predicted, therefore the time has come to begin adjusting the constitution to fit today's needs."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Antonin Scalia (Accessed 11-19-06) http://www.supremecourthistory.org/myweb/justice/scalia.htm
• Johnson, Marc (2005) Everything old is new again: Justice Scalia's activist originalism in Schriro v. Summerlin. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminolog

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