Wednesday night, United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to a packed house in Bennett Auditorium at U. Southern Mississippi. The event was titled “The Methodology of Originalism.”
Originalism is the philosophy that seeks to discover the original meaning or intent of the United States Constitution. In his speech, Scalia lamented that the Constitution is malleable to the demands of society and argued that it is not a living document. It is something not subjective to change, and, according to Scalia, it is ignorant to believe otherwise and only “exaggerates the difficulty of the meaning” of the item being interpreted.
He stated it is essential to know the original meaning of the document, and to do so one must know history to understand what was originally intended by the nation’s Founding Fathers. In order to make a decision on an issue, he said justices need facts from historians and that it is the court’s responsibility to evaluate those facts. From there, a decision can be made. In other words, history is the basis of originalist thought and must be used in order to make a fair and accurate judgment.
Scalia also explained that lawyers and judges should be trained in interpreting text and not in philosophy and morality, stating plainly that the law is about the law. Throughout the evening, Scalia employed this sort of straightforward, blunt approach in his speech and during the question and answer session. His no-nonsense, verbose manner is something he is known for in the court, but with that also comes his famed sense of humor. For instance, when asked about the other justices, he quipped, “They’re not bad people; they’re just wrong.”
Scalia’s speech was generally received with positive comments by students.
“His explanations of originalism, and how it used to be the norm in the U.S., has inspired me to look harder at the theory of a ‘living constitution,’” said sophomore marine biology major Ryan Parker, who attended the forum and also had the opportunity to dine with Scalia before the event. “He was a very open and entertaining dinner guest, full of great stories and insights about our country, particularly our media culture.”
This was Scalia’s first time to speak at Southern Miss. He has had previous engagements at William Carey University and Presbyterian Christian School in Hattiesburg.