Scalia a 'Caricature' of Himself

Paul Campos thinks it's time this 'ranting old man' retires
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 26, 2012 11:20 AM CDT
Scalia a 'Caricature' of Himself
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year.   (Getty Images)

Antonin Scalia's ranting dissent to yesterday's Arizona immigration ruling was sort of sad, writes law professor Paul Campos at Salon. It was "written by a man who obviously no longer cares that he sounds increasingly like a right-wing talk radio host," and that his opinions are beginning to read "like hastily drafted blog posts." The justice, once a talented legal mind and observer of liberal hypocrisy, "has, in his old age, become an increasingly intolerant and intolerable blowhard," and a "caricature of his younger self."

"The Supreme Court continues to devolve into an institution dominated by cranky senior citizens, who are harder to get rid of than the longest-serving members of the old Soviet politburo." Even if you don't agree with Scalia's politics—and Campos doesn't—it's unpleasant to see him decline. As a baseball and literature fan, he should read Updike's piece on Ted Williams' retirement. "He knew how to do even that, the hardest thing," Updike wrote: "Quit." Read Campos' full column here. (More Antonin Scalia stories.)

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