Justice Scalia decided that he could call a university student a few names and dodge a question about why he is on book tour promoting his book (and making money from the sales) and yet he thinks that cameras should not be allowed in the Court. The student tied these two facts together with some other thoughts and asked a terrific and a very pointed but polite question. Justice Scalia's eqo never seems to stop growing. Read the story below from the Legal Times.
February 04, 2009
Florida Student Asks Scalia a Question -- and Gets Scolded
Where others fear to tread, a 20-year-old college student from Tequesta, Fla.,boldly stepped forward Tuesday to ask Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a question he did not like during a public appearance in West Palm Beach. "That's a nasty, impolite question," said Scalia, himself an expert on tough questioning, and he at first refused to answer it.
This morning we tracked down student Sarah Jeck, the Florida Atlantic University honors college junior who incurred Scalia's wrath, and she seemed a little stunned, but not cowed, by his reaction. "He can dish it out, but he can't take it, I guess," she says. "I'm generally a very polite person. I'm really surprised the way it turned out. It was not a preposterous question."
So what did Sarah Jeck ask that caused the volatile justice to erupt? According to her own notes and this account in today's Sun-Sentinel, Jeck asked whether the rationale for Scalia's well-known opposition to cameras in the Supreme Court was "vitiated" by the facts that the Court allows public visitors to view arguments and releases full argument transcripts to the public, and that justices go out on book tours.
It's that last part that probably grated, because Scalia could, at that precise moment, have been said to be on a book tour. He was speaking before the Palm Beach County Forum Club and Bar Association, while his book -- Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, co-authored by Bryan Garner -- was for sale at a table outside the hall.
Jeck, a political science major, is taking a judicial process class and is looking at the issue of cameras in the courts as her thesis topic. So when she learned Scalia was coming to town, it seemed like a reasonable question to her and her prof Martin Sweet. By tradition, the club invites local university students to forum events and lets them ask questions. "We knew it was a little jab, but his response was unanticipated," she says.
After Scalia made his comment to Jeck, he took several written questions and then circled back to Jeck's query, according to this story in the Palm Beach Post. Scalia said he originally supported the idea of camera access in the courts, but came to oppose it because the inevitable "30-second takeouts" would not give a true picture of what is going on. "Why should I be a party to the miseducation of the American people?" According to Jeck, Scalia made no reference to his book tour as a possible contradiction to his views on public access to the Court.
We asked Jeck two more questions in our brief phone interview this morning. First, is she planning to go to law school? "Yes," she said without hesitation. And second, did she buy Scalia's book? Just as definitively, she said, "I'm a college student. I don't have $30."
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While the question that was asked was completely legitimate, it was worded in a prickly way and it sounds like it received a prickly response. This college student thought she would ask a "righteously rude" question and make a supreme court justice squirm, and instead, Justice Scalia called it like he saw it. I also understand the concerns of Justice Scalia that things could be shown out of context. And how in the world is the issue of him writing a book connected in any way to the issue of having cameras in the courtroom. I say a supreme court justice's opinion on whether or not to broadcast the court are extremely relevant, and a college junior's opinion is incredibly not.
ReplyDeleteSo her question made him squirm a bit, okay. Good for both and shame on both. He should not have scolded her but maybe she should not have asked such a question in public. Good thing the justice limited his rant to a short sentence and didn't say anything too stupid.
ReplyDeleteThis college girl from Florida obviously is inteligant but was her intellegance portrayed in an appropriate way when it was her time to ask scolia a pretty blunt question. I dont see what the big deal is with having cameras in a court room is. This college girl seemed to think differently and Scolia did not like it.
ReplyDeleteScalia, I think got thrown off guard. He probably thought he was there to answer some fluff questions and maybe plug his book and this girl asked him a tough question. It said that Scalia is known for his hard questions, I think he should have gave the question a minute, then answered. He shouldn't have given into the heat of the moment
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was wrong for the student to ask Scalia her question. This is after all America, and we are all entitled to our opinion and our own way of doing things. What she did may have been a little uncalled for, but what is wrong with asking blunt questions? If anything it would just require Scalia to give his own opinion. I do agree with his opinion on cameras in the court. Some cases are more sensitive and controversial, and it is easy for things to be taken out of context.
ReplyDeleteI can understand where justice Scalia is coming from with his feelings on cameras in court. The way things are edited sometimes can completely change what actually happened. But I think the way he reacted to the student was completely unprofessional, if he thought she was being rude he should have been the bigger person and not answered or gave a polite one.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know if Justice Scalia is on a book tour, or if the book sale outside the room was just a coincidence? I don’t think the question was rude. Scalia is a Supreme Court justice. He handles difficult case all the time; why not answer a few difficult questions at a college? I think the student asked a great question. I don’t think she meant for it to stir the pot so much, but I think it’s great to questions our leader on issues…especially since we don’t actually get to elect Supreme Court justices.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great when a supreme court justice gets poked fun at. Their authority and power otherwise is essentially unchecked. They are appointed for life, they determine the meaning of rules and rights that affect every citizen's life. To me it's a humanizing thing. Obviously Justice Scalia isn't used to being treated this way. You can tell just by his snappy comment, he lashed out. I don't think him showing anger should be that big of a deal though. I know I don't act very courteous when someone takes a shot at me. He's a justice yes, but he's also a human being.
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't think that this question was entirely out of line. Perhaps the wording could have been better so as not to make the Justice feel as though he were under attack. But there was no need for him to be impolite in his answer. After all he was at a college and should understand that students are there to learn and do not always possess the most tact. I think he most likely overeacted and probably regrets the way he handled the question in hidsight. Also I think that cameras should be allowed in the court rooms, but that they should be denied access for certain cases. It would need to be evaluated on a case by case basis.
ReplyDelete