Scalia

April 7, 2014
Justice Antonin Scalia is fighting a losing battle to put his conservative stamp on the Supreme Court, according to this penetrating biography by historian Murphy (Wild Bill). The book reveals a smart, ebullient, gleefully argumentative man with an intellect and militancy honed by Jesuit educators. Scalia's "originalist" juridical philosophy is based on close, sometimes tortured, readings of the Constitution. The author argues that Scalia's uncompromising abrasiveness has alienated even court conservativesâespecially his nemesis, the erratic, sentimental Justice Anthony Kennedy. Murphy also suggests that rather than providing a neutral, consistent rule book for interpreting the Constitution, Scalia's originalism is a morass of biased "law-office history" that amounts to "just another tool to reach whatever ideological result that a judge preferred." He probes Scalia's evolving ideas through detailed recaps of his judicial opinions on controversial issues from abortion and gun control to gay marriage, along with accounts of behind-the-scenes court politicking and extensive (sometimes rambling) quotations from the justice's speeches; Scalia's entertainingly tactless public utterances are also sampled. Murphy's thoughtful analysis of Scalia's intellectual journey shows just how difficult it is to straitjacket the Constitution within a narrow interpretation. Photos.

July 1, 2014

Murphy's (Fred Morgan Kirby Professor of Civil Rights, Lafayette Coll.) previous book, Wild Bill, was a superb look at the life of William O. Douglas, a brash, provocative, conspicuous, and controversial Supreme Court justice. Antonin Scalia is all these things, too. Scalia, now 78, pursued success relentlessly, moving from Jesuit high school to Georgetown University, Harvard University Law, a large Cleveland law firm, professorships at Chicago and Virginia, the Nixon and Ford White Houses, all leading to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, and, in 1986, the Supreme Court. Murphy's chapter titles include "Evil Nino" (Nino being Scalia's nickname), "Scalia v. the Pope," and "Grumpy Old Justice," which capture the subject's prickly personality. The author makes a strong case--as he did in his book on Douglas--that Scalia also doesn't follow certain ethical rules, e.g., his association with Dick Cheney while he had a case pending before the court. Murphy's biography is fair and scholarly--which makes it all the more damning. VERDICT Comprehensively researched, accessible, and fascinating, this title is recommended for friend and foe alike of Nino to understand just what the Supreme Court is up to.--Michael O. Eshleman, Kings Mills, OH

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