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Antonin Scalia Was a Diversity Hire - Balls and Strikes
https://ballsandstrikes.substack.com/p/antonin-scalia-was-a-diversity-hireIn 2003, the Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger upheld the University of Michigan Law School’s right to voluntarily consider the race of applicants when making admissions decisions, for the purposes of assembling a “diverse” student body. Justice Antonin Scalia, a staunch opponent of affirmative action who had hoped the Court would use Grutter to get rid of the practice once and for all, was furious. In a separate opinion, he ridiculed the notion that some vague, abstract desire to build a more inclusive society could or should play a role in decisions like these: The law school’s justification for its policy, Scalia wrote, “challenges even the most gullible mind.”
In December 2015, when the Court heard oral argument in another legal challenge to affirmative action, Scalia reiterated his skepticism of the constitutional legitimacy of prestigious institutions taking applicants’ backgrounds into account. He suggested that Black students might even perform better at “less-advanced” or “slower-track” schools where “they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.” Scalia died before the Court issued its decision in that case, Fisher v. University of Texas, thus preventing him from committing any more of his casual racism to the pages of the United States Reports.
Three decades earlier, the Senate that confirmed Scalia to the Supreme Court by a vote of 98-0 felt very differently about diversity. At his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 1986, the dominant theme was not Scalia’s originalist jurisprudence, his reactionary politics, or his enduring fondness for attending the opera. It was instead celebrating the milestone accomplishment of his all-but-assured confirmation: At long last, after nearly two centuries, the Supreme Court would have its first Italian American justice.
“This is a magnificent tribute to the Italian Americans of this nation,” declared New Mexico Republican Pete Domenici. New York Republican Al D’Amato called it “a source of great pride to all Americans, and particularly to all Americans of Italian descent, that this brilliant son of an immigrant is being nominated to our nation’s highest court.” Arizona Democrat Dennis DeConcini described Scalia as “another example of immigrants who have risen to outstanding positions in our government,” and as living proof that “the rapid assimilation of immigrants pumps strength and vitality into this great nation.”
In December 2015, when the Court heard oral argument in another legal challenge to affirmative action, Scalia reiterated his skepticism of the constitutional legitimacy of prestigious institutions taking applicants’ backgrounds into account. He suggested that Black students might even perform better at “less-advanced” or “slower-track” schools where “they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.” Scalia died before the Court issued its decision in that case, Fisher v. University of Texas, thus preventing him from committing any more of his casual racism to the pages of the United States Reports.
Three decades earlier, the Senate that confirmed Scalia to the Supreme Court by a vote of 98-0 felt very differently about diversity. At his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 1986, the dominant theme was not Scalia’s originalist jurisprudence, his reactionary politics, or his enduring fondness for attending the opera. It was instead celebrating the milestone accomplishment of his all-but-assured confirmation: At long last, after nearly two centuries, the Supreme Court would have its first Italian American justice.
“This is a magnificent tribute to the Italian Americans of this nation,” declared New Mexico Republican Pete Domenici. New York Republican Al D’Amato called it “a source of great pride to all Americans, and particularly to all Americans of Italian descent, that this brilliant son of an immigrant is being nominated to our nation’s highest court.” Arizona Democrat Dennis DeConcini described Scalia as “another example of immigrants who have risen to outstanding positions in our government,” and as living proof that “the rapid assimilation of immigrants pumps strength and vitality into this great nation.”
Just a little FYI from @jaywillis.net
— ElieNYC (@elienyc.bsky.social) 2025-11-21T17:02:20.774Z
2 replies
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I'm sure Scalia's remains could be deported to El Salvador where IMHO they belong.
