Last week I took eighteen N.C. Superior Court Judges to Washington, D.C. Among other things, we attended oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court and were fortunate enough to have a meeting with Justice Scalia. He came to the meeting with no prepared comments and told us to ask questions. Our discussion was wide ranging and fascinating. I’ll share a few details here. In response to a question about how the Court has changed over his tenure, he noted that it is taking fewer cases. Justice Scalia said he wasn’t entirely sure why the caseload has lightened but he noted that when he first came on the Court a number of major statutes had been enacted. As he put it, “It takes twenty years or so to get the bugs out of new statutes.” Aside from the Affordable Care Act, he suggested that we haven’t had seen a lot of sweeping legislation in recent years. Another change is that the quality of argument at the Court has improved. He attributed that, in part, to the development of Supreme Court practice areas in large firms. On why he dissents, Justice Scalia explained, “I’m not going to lie.” He said that in order to join an opinion, he has to agree with everything in it. He noted that some of his colleagues take a more permissive view, reasoning that you shouldn’t dissent unless the point of disagreement is major. But as Justice Scalia explained, “You should hold me accountable not just for my [...]
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