The sudden passing of Justice Antonin Scalia shook America. After almost thirty years on the Supreme Court, Scalia had become as integral to the institution as the hallowed room in which he sat. His wisecracking interruptions during oral arguments, his unmatched legal wisdom, his unwavering dedication to the Constitution, and his blistering dissents defined his leadership role on the court and inspired new generations of policymakers and legal minds.
Now, as Republicans and Democrats wage war over Scalia's lamentably empty Supreme Court seat, Kevin Ring, former counsel to the U.S. Senate's Constitution Subcommittee, has taken a close look at the cases that best illustrate Scalia's character, philosophy, and legacy. In Scalia's Court: A Legacy of Landmark Opinions and Dissents, Ring collects Scalia's most memorable opinions on free speech, separation of powers, race, religious freedom, the rights of the accused, abortion, and more; and intersperses Scalia's own words with an analysis of his legal reasoning and his lasting impact on American jurisprudence.
"I don't worry about my legacy," Scalia once told an audience at the National Archives. "Just do your job right, and who cares?"
Now that "the lion of American law has left the stage," as the U.S. Attorney General put it, it is for the rest of America to worry about his legacy--and to care.
He also served as executive director for the Republican Study Committee, the largest member organization in the U.S. House of Representatives. Kevin became a lobbyist in 1999 and was twice named one of K Street's Top Lobbyists. He now serves as the vice president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM).
Kevin is a graduate of Syracuse University and the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
"He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh. The press referred to his 'energetic fervor, ' 'astringent intellect, ' 'peppery prose, ' 'acumen, ' and 'affability, ' all apt descriptions. He was eminently quotable, his pungent opinions so clearly stated that his words never slipped from the reader's grasp."
--Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court