Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his own words: the definitive collection of his opinions, speeches, and articles on the most essential and vexing legal questions, with an intimate foreword by Justice Elena Kagan.
A Justice on the United States Supreme Court for three decades, Antonin Scalia transformed the way that judges, lawyers, and citizens think about the law. The Essential Scalia presents Justice Scalia on his own terms, allowing readers to understand the reasoning and insights that made him one of the most consequential jurists in American history.
Known for his forceful intellect and remarkable wit, Scalia mastered the art of writing in a way that both educated and entertained. This comprehensive collection draws from the best of Scalia's opinions, essays, speeches, and testimony to paint a complete and nuanced portrait of his jurisprudence. This compendium addresses the hot-button issues of the times, everything from abortion and the right to bear arms, to marriage, free speech, religious liberty, and so much more. It also presents the Justice's wise insights on perennial debates including the structure of government created by our Constitution and the proper methods for interpreting our laws.
Brilliant and passionately argued, The Essential Scalia is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to understand our Constitution, the American legal system, and one of our nation's most influential and highly regarded jurists and thinkers.
About the Authors
Antonin Gregory Scalia was born in 1936 in Trenton, New Jersey, the only child of Eugene and Catherine Scalia. In 1982, President Reagan appointed Scalia, who was then a law professor at the University of Chicago, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In September 1986, following a 98-0 confirmation by the Senate, Reagan appointed him to the Supreme Court. One of the most significant justices in the history of the Court, he served for nearly thirty years before his death in February 2016. Antonin Scalia was married to Maureen for fifty-five years. Together they had nine children and dozens of grandchildren.
Jeffrey S. Sutton, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, is a former law clerk to Justice Scalia. Judge Sutton teaches classes on federal and state constitutional law at Harvard Law School and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He and his wife, Peggy, have three children and live in Columbus, Ohio. Sutton is the author of 51 Imperfect Solutions- States and the Making of American Constitutional Law.
Edward Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is a former law clerk to Justice Scalia. He is a leading commentator on the Supreme Court and on issues of constitutional law. Mr. Whelan co-edited two other collections of Justice Scalia's work, Scalia Speaks- Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived and On Faith- Lessons from an American Believer . A father of four, he lives with his family in the D.C. area.
