APPOINTED BY REAGAN, LONGEST-SERVING HIGH COURT JUSTICE
by Sharon Rondeau
(Feb. 13, 2016) — U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was discovered dead at a Texas ranch on Saturday morning.
He reportedly died in his sleep following a hunting expedition on Friday. He was reportedly a close friend of fellow Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and was the longest-serving member of the high court at the time of his passing.
Scalia was appointed to the Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. He was known for “asking the most questions” during cases argued before the Court, according to Fox News’s Bret Baier on Saturday evening.
Scalia had opposed the ruling declaring Obamacare as being constitutional as well as the court’s same-sex marriage ruling last June.
Last May, “Patriot Citizen TM” asked Scalia the meaning of the “natural born Citizen” term found in Article II, Section 1, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution at an event where Scalia was speaking and signing copies of his latest book, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts” written with Bryan A. Garner. In response to the question, Scalia had said, “I have to research that.”
Scalia had opined that “the Supreme Court of the United States favors some laws over others, and is prepared to do whatever it takes to uphold and assist its favorites.”
He is the author of four other books, two of which were co-authored with Garner. His opinions have been published in a book titled “The Opinions of Justice Antonin Scalia: The Caustic Conservative.”
Scalia was an advocate of “examining what the Founders meant when writing the Constitution is the best method for judging cases,” known as “originalism.”
Prior to serving on the Supreme Court, Scalia was the sitting judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit.
He is survived by his wife Maureen, nine children, and 36 grandchildfen.