Scalia speaks in Baltimore

Baltimore Sun

In a speech before more than 1,000 law students and attorneys at Baltimore’s Lyric Opera House yesterday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia set out to dispel the notion that his judicial philosophy always leads him to ultra-conservative opinions.

He pointed to an instance where he agreed that flag burning was a form of protected and legal speech. Scalia said the morning after the court’s opinion was announced, his “very conservative” wife began humming You’re a Grand Old Flag over breakfast as a form of protest. The audience burst into laughter.

During a nearly hourlong speech, sponsored the by University of Baltimore School of Law, Scalia defended his view on the Constitution. He said he rejected the notion of a “living Constitution,” or one that changes as society changes. Instead, he said he believes that the court should interpret the meaning of the Constitution based on the intent of its original authors.

So abortion, for example. It’s not covered in the Constitution. Leave it to the legislature, Scalia said. Same with the death penalty.

Hence, he said, his position on flag burning. If he had a personal choice, he said he would throw all flag burners “right in jail.” But the Framers, he said, intended the First Amendment to allow people to express opposition - to protect them from tyranny. Protecting flag burning matches the Framers’ intent, he said.