At Volokh Conspiracy, David Bernstein: Justice Kagan’s beautiful remarks at the Antonin Scalia Law School dedication. He writes:
On Thursday, my law school held a dedication ceremony, attended by six Supreme Court justices, honoring the renaming of George Mason University’s law school as the Antonin Scalia Law School. Justice Elena Kagan spoke at the dedication, and her remarks are well worth watching. She began, “I’m deeply honored to participate in this dedication of the Antonin Scalia Law School. Although, I have to admit, the name strikes me as a little bit formal: I’m wondering if I can substitute the word ‘Nino.’ It’s so fitting — so right — that a fine law school like this one should bear Justice Scalia’s name.”
[With video embedded].
To adapt some of the thoughts I expressed yesterday in a talk at the University of California San Diego's Osher Institute (sorry, no public video), I wonder if part of Justice Scalia's legacy may be carried on by Justice Kagan as a form of liberal textualism. Justice Kagan seems influenced by Scalia to an extent, and she may be an intellectual leader of a future liberal majority court (see this essay by Jeffrey Toobin: The Supreme Court after Scalia).
I actually think Scalia would like that idea very much.
Posted at 6:54 AM