Above the law.Byline: The Register-Guard Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia seems to have a hard time telling the difference between the ducks he loves to hunt with his old chum, Vice President Dick Cheney, and the journalists he likes to hunt with federal marshals. Scalia delivered a speech to a group of high school students in Mississippi on Wednesday. After he was done, a federal marshal, apparently acting on the justice's orders, confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. and erased tape recordings made by two reporters who had been invited to hear the justice speak in the school's gymnasium gymnasium In Germany, a state-maintained secondary school that prepares pupils for higher academic education. This type of nine-year school originated in Strasbourg in 1537. . The justice already has shown a remarkable arrogance and disregard for public opinion by angrily refusing to recuse To disqualify or remove oneself as a judge over a particular proceeding because of one's conflict of interest. Recusal, or the judge's act of disqualifying himself or herself from presiding over a proceeding, is based on the Maxim himself from a case involving Cheney's closed private meetings with energy industry executives. Now he has taken this arrogance and disregard to what might be called a supreme level by interfering with journalists who had the audacity au·dac·i·ty n. pl. au·dac·i·ties 1. Fearless daring; intrepidity. 2. Bold or insolent heedlessness of restraints, as of those imposed by prudence, propriety, or convention. 3. to record his comments. The facts are still being sorted out, but Scalia's order may have violated federal laws that shield journalists from having their notes and records confiscated by officials. Scalia has a long-standing policy of prohibiting either television or audio recordings of his public remarks, a rule that is shared by no other member of the current court. However, the justice provided no warning of that rule to either event hosts or reporters when he spoke at a Christian high school Christian High School, also known as CHS, is in O'Fallon, Missouri. The school mascot is the Eagle and the school colors are teal and black. Their women's soccer team has won many state championships. in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Wednesday. Scalia spoke of the Constitution, calling it a "brilliant piece of work" that protects the rights of all. As the justice neared the end of his talk, a federal marshal confronted two reporters who were taping Scalia's comments, demanded their tapes and erased them before returning them. Scalia might consider reviewing the Privacy Protection Act of 1980. It states: ``It shall be unlawful for a government officer or employee ... to search for or seize any work product materials possessed by a person reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast or other similar form of public communication.'' Of course, such legal nitpicking nit·pick·ing n. Minute, trivial, unnecessary, and unjustified criticism or faultfinding. nitpicking nit (inf) n → Kleinigkeitskrämerei f , including the federal law that directs a judge to disqualify To deprive of eligibility or render unfit; to disable or incapacitate. To be disqualified is to be stripped of legal capacity. A wife would be disqualified as a juror in her husband's trial for murder due to the nature of their relationship. himself "in any proceeding in which his impartiality might be questioned," hasn't kept Scalia from doing whatever he wants in the past. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion