Scalia speaks despite protests

United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to a capacity crowd in McCosh 50 Friday night, concluding a two-day conference on James Madison and the Constitution.

Though the material was specific and intellectual, Scalia maintained an upbeat pace and demeanor throughout the speech, even as the chants of protesters could be heard from outside.

The 30 or 40 protesters, who gathered outside McCosh with banners and signs, yelled at audience members as they filed into the auditorium. Their chants "high court treason" and "illegitimate" began a half-hour before the speech and continued well past its conclusion.

Several University alumni yelled praise for Scalia at the protesters as they passed security and entered the building — others booed the protesters and turned down their thumbs.

The speech, however, began without any difficulties. Scalia appeared both animated and scholarly during the hour-long speech, in which he focused on Madison and his view of constitutional interpretation.

Scalia defined Madison as an originalist who followed the doctrine of textualism — someone who interpreted the Constitution as what the meaning of the text would have been to the majority of people living in America at the time of its ratification.

Scalia, who also considers himself a textualist, discussed examples of Madison's interpretation, using them to illustrate the dangers of depending on a court's interpretation instead of the legislative process.

By following a textualist approach, Scalia said, one may be forced to uphold a law that doesn't make sense, but upholding it will confront the Congress with the possibility of changing the law.

"It may well be stupid, but if it's stupid, pass a law," Scalia said. "My Constitution is a very flexible Constitution. You want a right to abortion? Create it the way most rights are created in a democracy, pass a law. The death penalty? Pass a law. That's flexibility."

The contrary approach to constitutional interpretation treats the Constitution as a living organism that changes over time, he said.

Scalia warned when the courts decide national issues by a constant reevaluation of the meaning of the Constitution, they usurp the democratic process by removing topics from discussion in Congress.

"Every time you insert into the Constitution — by speculation — new rights that aren't really there, you are impoverishing democracy," Scalia said. "You are pushing one issue after another off the democratic stage."

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After concluding his speech, Scalia allowed nearly 20 minutes of questions from the audience, but requested their scope be limited to the material he discussed. He often, however, discussed current topics — such as abortion and the death penalty — in the context of Madison and his interpretation.