**** Elections thread *****

[a500lbgorilla]

He has a legacy greater than most 2 term presidents. What he has done for 4th amendment law and others is something that will impact this nation for centuries. It's a heavy loss.

He's a man who deserves respect. But still, what's your real opinion about his work? Your politics included.

[JKDS]

He's a man who deserves respect. But still, what's your real opinion about his work? Your politics included.

He was consistent. There was the odd case here and there, but he was largely consistent with his view on interpretation. He believed the constitution was a dead document, to be viewed as it would have been at the time it was written. This sometimes lead to results that both the left and right would disagree with, but it also came with a bunch of persuasive heft.

He's not without his faults tho, no one is. His comments leave some believing him to be a bigot, or a racist. I have no opinion on that one way or another. He was devout though, and that language would sometimes seep into his opinions. I will say that I believe he stood in the way of gay rights, and wrongly so. But that's because my interpretation is that of a living document...so we fundamentally disagree. I'm not sure I'd call him a bigot for that.

His mark on history though is immense. He was the greatest 4th amendment protector we will likely ever see. From keeping dogs from sniffing your pourch, to officers from spying in your bathrooms, Scalia ensured that officers followed the constitution. He's had a great effect on the confrontation clause, and many other critical areas of criminal law like the death penalty. For the most part, all these decisions flow logically from his way of interpreting the constitution. (Example, the 4th specifically protects the home...so scalia grants the home huge protections; the 8th prohibits cruel and unusual punishment...but since the death penalty existed in the 1700s...how could it be cruel and unusual?)

You could always count on him to follow that interpretational view, and it's something well miss in future justices