Scalia Addresses the Constitution at UW
Passing through Laramie after an unsuccessful antelope hunt, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stopped at the University of Wyoming to make an impassioned and humorous case for sticking to the original meaning of the U.S. Constitution.
Scalia said Thursday he deplores the popular notion that the Constitution changes to meet society's needs. Rather, he said he sticks to its original meaning just as when people read Shakespeare they use a glossary to check the original meaning of his words.
Scalia denied his approach always leads to the most conservative decisions. For example, he said he sided with the court majority in ruling that it's constitutional to allow burning of the U.S. flag. But he said if he were king, he would throw "that bearded, sandal-wearing weirdo in jail."