The only way to eliminate any government choice on what art is worthwhile, what art isn't worthwhile, is to get the government totally out of the business of funding.
Antonin ScaliaRead
What secret knowledge, one must wonder, is breathed into lawyers when they become Justices of this Court that enables them to discern that a practice which the text of the Constitution does not clearly proscribe, and which our people have regarded as constitutional for 200 years, is in fact unconstitutional?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the transformative knowledge lawyers acquire when they become Justices and challenges their decisions on constitutional interpretation.
Antonin Scalia's quote expresses skepticism about how lawyers, upon becoming Justices, gain insights that allow them to declare long-standing practices unconstitutional. It highlights the tension between established norms and judicial interpretation, suggesting a deep contemplation on the nature of law and the evolving understanding of the Constitution.
Themes
ConstitutionJusticeLawInterpretationPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a debate about the judicial system and constitutional law to highlight the complexities of legal interpretation.
More from Antonin Scalia
All quotes βIf I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.
Antonin ScaliaRead
To allow the policy question of same-sex marriage to be considered and resolved by a select, patrician, highly unrepresentative panel of nine is to violate a principle even more fundamental than no taxation without representation: no social transformation without representation.
Antonin ScaliaRead
Until the courts put a stop to it, public debate over same-sex marriage displayed American democracy at its best. Individuals on both sides of the issue passionately, but respectfully, attempted to persuade their fellow citizens to accept their views.
Antonin ScaliaRead
Being a good person begins with being a wise person. Then, when you follow your conscience, will you be headed in the right direction.
Antonin ScaliaRead
If you're going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you're not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like them all the time, you're probably doing something wrong.
Antonin ScaliaRead
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