Word: scalias
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...teenager, Robert A. Viktora, burned a cross on the front lawn of a black family in St. Paul and was charged under a city ordinance that banned any action "which one knows . . . arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender." Scalia called the ordinance unconstitutional on its face "in that it prohibits otherwise permitted speech solely on the basis of the subjects the speech addresses." He was quick to add, "Let there be no mistake about our belief that burning a cross in someone's front yard is reprehensible...
...Rehnquist court has been predictably conservative in its approach. But last week, as the term entered its final days, the high court issued a quartet of decisions that showed a distinct pro-First Amendment, pro-civil liberties streak that surprised many observers. What was clear was that Antonin Scalia and Thomas, the right wing of the court, were far from controlling the agenda. Instead, a group of Justices -- Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter and Anthony Kennedy -- combined to demonstrate the existence of a new centrist core. "These cases may indicate the emergence of a stronger, more open-minded group...
...nine Justices agreed with Scalia's view that the ordinance ran afoul of the First Amendment. But four Justices -- O'Connor, Byron White, John Paul Stevens and Harry Blackmun -- took a different approach, attempting to find a way of accommodating so-called hate-crime laws that are drawn more narrowly. Left in doubt were hundreds of campus speech codes and bias-crime statutes throughout the country aimed at racist and sexist conduct...
...instructing the guards "not to have too much fun." The high court held that the use of such excessive force may constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment even if the inmate does not suffer serious injury. But in a dissent joined only by Justice Antonin Scalia, Thomas wrote that the court's decision was "yet another manifestation of the pervasive view that the Federal Constitution must address all ills in our society...
...Bush appointed Thomas to reinforce the court's right-leaning majority, the move was a striking success. Thomas has voted with Scalia, the most conservative member of the high bench, in each of the 13 cases he has participated in this term. Pin Point, it seems, is a distant memory...