"It is not of special importance to me what the law says about marriage. It is of overwhelming importance, however, who it is that rules me. Today's decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court. The opinion in these cases is the furthest extension in fact—and the furthest extension one can even imagine—of the Court's claimed power to create “liberties” that the Constitution and its Amendments neglect to mention. This practice of constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine, always accompanied (as it is today) by extravagant praise of liberty, robs the People of the most important liberty they asserted in the Declaration of Independence and won in the Revolution of 1776: the freedom to govern themselves."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United StatesJudges from the United StatesLawyers from the United StatesCatholics from the United StatesPeople from Trenton
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Dissenting, Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584, 192 L. Ed. 2d 609 (2015); decided June 26, 2015.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antonin_Scalia
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who served for 29 years, from 1986 until his death. He was appointed to the Court by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
114 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Antonin Scalia →
Related Quotes
"I define speech as any communicative activity. [Can it be nonverbal?] Yes. [Can it be nonverbal and also not written?…"
"In law school, I never understood [antitrust law]. I later found out, in reading the writings of those who now do und…"
"Frequently an issue of this sort will come before the Court clad, so to speak, in sheep's clothing: the potential of …"
"Evidently, the governing standard is to be what might be called the unfettered wisdom of a majority of this Court, re…"
"How frightening it must be to have your own independent counsel and staff appointed, with nothing else to do but to i…"
"Those who believe that racial preferences can help to 'even the score' display, and reinforce, a manner of thinking a…"
"Justice White's conclusion is perhaps correct, if one assumes that the task of a court of law is to plumb the intent …"
"We reject the dissent's contention that our approach, by "largely return[ing] the task of defining the contours of Ei…"
"The outcome of today's case will doubtless be heralded as a triumph of judicial statesmanship. It is not that, unless…"
"This case, involving legal requirements for the content and labeling of meat products such as frankfurters, affords a…"