[craigepo]

I had the opportunity to attend a talk last night with Judge Scalia as the speaker. I found him to extremely intelligent with an endearing and funny personality.

He was asked the question of the opinions that he was most proud of writing, both majority and dissenting. As to the majority opinion, his favorite was the recent Crawford decision, wherein he re-established the right to confront one's accuser in open court (from the Confrontation Clause of the 6th Amendment). As to the dissent, he was most proud of his dissent in a case wherein he argued that the Independent Counsel Act (which allowed a court appointee "with full power and independent authority to exercise all investigative and prosecutorial functions and powers of the Department of Justice [and] the Attorney General", was a direct usurpation of the constitutional powers of the Executive Branch. (Morrison v. Olson)

His stated reason for pride in both opinions: his goal was to give constitutional rights back to the people that had been taken away by those who thought that the Constitution was a "living document" that can be constantly redefined.

I find it reassuring that a guy who is this intelligent, well-meaning and well-written holds his spot on the Supreme Court.