Justice Antonin Scalia and the 'dead' Constitution

New York

WHETHER or not you agreed with the man, there is no question that Justice Antonin Scalia changed the United States Supreme Court, the way that the Constitution and laws are interpreted, and the image of a Supreme Court justice far more than president Ronald Reagan could ever have foreseen when appointing him.

By choosing the appeals court judge and former law professor, Mr Reagan believed that his nominee would become a charismatic "William Brennan of the Conservatives" on the new Rehnquist court - a man who would unite a coalition of like-minded justices, just as Mr Brennan had done on the liberal Warren court.