Antonin Scalia

Antonin Scalia
Born	Antonin Gregory Scalia 11 3, 1936
Birthplace	Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Presidio County, Texas, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Jurist, legal scholar
Known for	Originalism, textualism; Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1986–2016)
Education	Harvard Law School (LL.B.)
Spouse(s)	Maureen McCarthy
Children	9
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom (posthumous, 2018)

Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from September 26, 1986, until his death on February 13, 2016. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in a 98–0 vote, Scalia became the first Italian-American justice in the Court's history. Over the course of nearly three decades on the bench, he served as the intellectual anchor of the Court's conservative wing, championing originalism in constitutional interpretation and textualism in statutory construction—judicial philosophies that reshaped American legal discourse and continue to define debates within the federal judiciary. His opinions—whether writing for the majority, in concurrence, or in often biting dissent—became some of the most cited and discussed in modern American jurisprudence. Among his landmark opinions were the majority decisions in Crawford v. Washington and District of Columbia v. Heller, as well as his lone dissent in Morrison v. Olson. Scalia was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, and the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University was named in his honor.

Early Life

Antonin Gregory Scalia was born on March 11, 1936, in Trenton, New Jersey. He was the only child of Salvatore Eugene Scalia, an Italian immigrant who became a professor of Romance languages at Brooklyn College, and Catherine Panaro Scalia, a first-generation Italian-American who worked as an elementary school teacher. The family moved to the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York City, where Scalia grew up in a household that placed a strong emphasis on education, Catholicism, and intellectual rigor.

Scalia was raised as a devout Roman Catholic, a faith that remained central to his life and worldview throughout his career. He attended public elementary schools in Queens before enrolling at Xavier High School, a Jesuit military academy in Manhattan. At Xavier, Scalia distinguished himself as a top student and participated in debate and other academic activities. He graduated first in his class, an early indication of the intellectual acuity that would define his professional life.

His upbringing in a bilingual, scholarly household—his father was a specialist in Italian literature—fostered an appreciation for language, textual precision, and the careful parsing of words that would become hallmarks of Scalia's later legal writing. Friends and contemporaries from his youth described him as intensely competitive, quick-witted, and deeply committed to his Catholic faith.

Education

Following his graduation from Xavier High School, Scalia attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he studied history. He graduated as valedictorian of his class, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors. At Georgetown, Scalia was immersed in a Jesuit educational tradition that emphasized rhetoric, moral philosophy, and rigorous intellectual inquiry.

Scalia then enrolled at Harvard Law School, one of the nation's preeminent legal institutions. At Harvard, he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and was a Sheldon Fellow. He graduated magna cum laude in 1960 with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. His time at Harvard exposed him to a broad range of legal theories and sharpened his analytical skills, though his distinctive conservative judicial philosophy would not fully crystallize until later in his career.

Career

Early Legal Career

After completing his legal education at Harvard, Scalia entered private practice, joining the international law firm Jones Day (then known as Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue) in Cleveland, Ohio. He spent six years at the firm, from 1961 to 1967, where he developed experience in commercial and administrative law.

In 1967, Scalia transitioned to academia, accepting a position as a professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law. His time in Charlottesville marked the beginning of a dual career in legal scholarship and public service that would characterize the next two decades of his professional life.

Government Service Under Nixon and Ford

Scalia's entry into government service came in the early 1970s, during the administration of President Richard Nixon. In September 1972, he was appointed Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a federal agency tasked with improving the efficiency of government regulatory processes. He served in this role until August 1974.

Following Nixon's resignation, Scalia continued in government under President Gerald Ford. In August 1974, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Department of Justice, a position he held until January 20, 1977. In this role, Scalia served as the executive branch's chief legal adviser on constitutional questions and matters of federal law. The position placed him at the center of significant legal and policy debates during a turbulent period in American governance, including issues related to executive privilege and the separation of powers—themes that would recur throughout his judicial career.

Academic Career and the Federalist Society

With the election of President Jimmy Carter in 1976, Scalia returned to academia. He joined the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School, one of the country's leading centers of conservative and libertarian legal thought. At Chicago, Scalia taught courses in administrative law, constitutional law, and related subjects, and he became a prominent voice in legal scholarly debates about the proper scope of governmental power and the interpretation of statutes and the Constitution.

During his time at the University of Chicago, Scalia became one of the first faculty advisers of the Federalist Society, then a fledgling organization of conservative and libertarian law students. The Federalist Society would grow into one of the most influential legal organizations in the United States, playing a significant role in shaping the federal judiciary and legal policy debates for decades. Scalia's early involvement with the organization reflected his growing commitment to originalist and textualist principles and his desire to foster a robust conservative legal movement in American law schools and courts.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Scalia to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often considered the second most powerful court in the nation after the Supreme Court due to its jurisdiction over federal regulatory and administrative cases. He succeeded Judge Roger Robb on the bench.

During his four years on the D.C. Circuit (1982–1986), Scalia built a reputation as a sharp legal mind with a distinctly conservative approach to statutory and constitutional interpretation. His opinions on administrative law, separation of powers, and the scope of government regulation attracted attention within the Reagan administration and among conservative legal scholars. His tenure on the appeals court served as a proving ground for the judicial philosophy he would bring to the Supreme Court.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

On June 17, 1986, President Reagan nominated Scalia to the Supreme Court to fill the seat being vacated by Justice William Rehnquist, who had been elevated to Chief Justice. Scalia's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee were notable for his intellect and wit, and his nomination drew broad bipartisan support. On September 17, 1986, the United States Senate confirmed his appointment by a vote of 98–0, making him the first Italian-American to serve on the Supreme Court. He took his seat on September 26, 1986.

Judicial Philosophy: Originalism and Textualism

Scalia's jurisprudence was defined by two closely related interpretive methodologies: originalism and textualism. In constitutional cases, he advocated originalism—the principle that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original public meaning of its text at the time it was adopted, rather than as a "living document" whose meaning evolves with contemporary values. In statutory interpretation, he championed textualism—the approach of deriving the meaning of a statute from the plain text of the law, rather than from legislative history or the perceived intentions of lawmakers.

Scalia articulated these principles in numerous speeches, scholarly writings, and judicial opinions over his career. He frequently argued that alternative interpretive approaches gave judges too much discretion and allowed them to impose their own policy preferences under the guise of constitutional or statutory interpretation. As he was fond of saying, "it takes a theory to beat a theory," a phrase he repeated often to challenge those who criticized originalism without offering a coherent alternative interpretive framework.

His advocacy of originalism and textualism catalyzed a broader movement in American law. Legal scholars, practicing lawyers, and judges across the ideological spectrum were compelled to engage with these interpretive theories, and originalism in particular moved from the fringes of legal academia to the mainstream of constitutional discourse.

Major Opinions

Scalia authored several opinions that rank among the most significant in modern Supreme Court history.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): In one of his most consequential majority opinions, Scalia wrote for a 5–4 Court that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees an individual right to possess firearms, independent of service in a militia. The decision struck down a District of Columbia handgun ban and established a new framework for analyzing gun regulations under the Second Amendment.

Crawford v. Washington (2004): Scalia wrote the majority opinion holding that the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment bars the introduction of testimonial statements by witnesses who do not appear at trial, unless the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness. The decision significantly reshaped the law of evidence in criminal cases across the United States.

Morrison v. Olson (1988): In what many legal scholars consider one of the most prescient dissents in Supreme Court history, Scalia was the lone dissenter in a 7–1 decision upholding the constitutionality of the independent counsel statute. Scalia argued that the law violated the separation of powers by encroaching on the executive branch's prosecutorial authority. His dissent gained renewed attention decades later when the independent counsel mechanism faced widespread criticism.

Scalia also wrote or joined significant opinions on subjects including the Commerce Clause, the dormant Commerce Clause, executive power, the Establishment Clause, and the scope of federal regulatory authority.

Dissents and Writing Style

Scalia became as well known for his dissents as for his majority opinions. He filed separate opinions in many cases, frequently excoriating the majority in sharp, colorful, and sometimes caustic language. His writing style—characterized by wit, rhetorical flair, and memorable turns of phrase—set him apart from his contemporaries on the bench and attracted both admiration and criticism.

He was known for circulating memos to his colleagues called "Ninograms," named after his lifelong nickname "Nino," in which he attempted to persuade other justices to adopt his legal positions.

Positions on Major Constitutional Issues

Throughout his tenure, Scalia consistently held that the United States Constitution did not guarantee a right to abortion and that the Court's decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) was incorrectly decided. He maintained that such questions should be resolved through the democratic process rather than by judicial interpretation. His views on this subject influenced a generation of conservative legal thinkers and were cited by Justice Samuel Alito in the drafting of the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), which overturned Roe v. Wade.

Scalia also held that the Constitution did not guarantee the right to same-sex marriage and that affirmative action and similar policies affording special protected status to minority groups were unconstitutional. He was a strong defender of executive power and believed the Constitution permitted the death penalty. These positions earned him a reputation as one of the most conservative members of the Court during his tenure.

Personal Life

Scalia married Maureen McCarthy on September 10, 1960. The couple had nine children, including Eugene Scalia, who later served as the United States Secretary of Labor under President Donald Trump. The family was deeply rooted in the Roman Catholic faith, and Scalia was a regular participant in Catholic worship and community life throughout his adult years.

Scalia was known for his gregarious personality and his ability to maintain warm personal friendships across ideological lines. His close friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, his ideological opposite on the Court, was particularly well documented. The two shared a love of opera and frequently socialized together, despite their fundamental disagreements on the law.

Scalia died on February 13, 2016, at a ranch in Presidio County, Texas, at the age of 79. His death, occurring during the final year of President Barack Obama's second term, triggered a protracted political battle over his successor. Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold confirmation hearings. The seat remained vacant for over a year until it was filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch, nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed in April 2017. Scalia was buried at Fairfax Memorial Park in Fairfax, Virginia.

Recognition

Scalia received numerous honors during and after his lifetime. In 2018, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Donald Trump.

The Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, was renamed in his honor in 2016, shortly after his death. The school has become a center for conservative and libertarian legal scholarship.

Scalia was the subject of extensive media coverage during his life and has remained a prominent figure in discussions of the Supreme Court and constitutional law. He delivered numerous lectures at law schools and academic institutions across the country, including notable addresses at Harvard Law School and the Claremont McKenna College Salvatori Center.

His opinions continue to be among the most frequently cited by advocates appearing before the Supreme Court. As CNN reported in 2026, lawyers on all sides of the political spectrum regularly quote Scalia's writings in their briefs and oral arguments, a testament to the enduring influence of his legal reasoning on the Court's current jurisprudence.

Legacy

Ten years after his death, Scalia's influence on American law and the Supreme Court remains substantial. His championing of originalism and textualism transformed the landscape of constitutional and statutory interpretation in the United States. Originalism, once a minority position in legal academia and on the bench, became the dominant interpretive philosophy among conservative jurists and a subject of serious engagement across the ideological spectrum.

Scalia's impact is evident in the composition and jurisprudence of the current Supreme Court. Several justices appointed after his death, including Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, have identified with the originalist tradition he helped popularize. Justice Alito, in a 2026 interview marking the tenth anniversary of Scalia's death, described him as "the antidote" to what conservative jurists perceived as judicial overreach, and credited Scalia's intellectual framework with shaping the reasoning behind the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Scalia's legacy extends beyond the judiciary. The Federalist Society, which he helped nurture in its earliest years, became a major force in the selection of federal judges and the development of conservative legal theory. His insistence on textual fidelity and the limits of judicial power influenced a generation of law students, legal scholars, and practitioners.

At the same time, Scalia's legacy remains a subject of debate. Critics argued that his originalism could yield results that were insensitive to evolving social norms and the rights of minority groups, and that his sharp rhetoric at times undermined judicial collegiality. Supporters maintained that his jurisprudence restored discipline to constitutional interpretation and served as a necessary check on judicial activism.

Commemorative events marking the tenth anniversary of his death in February 2026, including lectures, panel discussions, and retrospective analyses, attested to the continuing relevance of his ideas in American legal culture.

As one commentator observed, whether one agreed or disagreed with Scalia's conclusions, his intellectual force compelled the legal profession to confront fundamental questions about the nature of constitutional meaning—a contribution whose effects continue to reverberate through American law and governance.