Piers Morgan had Justice Scalia on last night and Hannity landed George Zimmerman. Must see TV for law nerds!
Scalia had lots of interesting things to say, and I liked how Morgan pushed him a bit. Scalia said he is most proud that the Court doesn't really cite legislative history anymore and that he has helped move the Court to focus on just the text of the statute or Constitution. Yet earlier in the interview, he said that he frequently reads the Federalist Papers to see what the Framers intended. I'm not sure why the Federalist Papers are an okay source for intent, but legislative history is not...
Anyway, here is one clip from the interview:
And here is the
NY Times coverage of the interview:
Asked by CNN’s Piers Morgan whether he and Chief Justice Roberts “have had a parting of the ways, gone from best buddies to warring enemies,” Justice Scalia first ducked the question.
“Who told you that?” he asked.
Mr. Morgan cited news reports, prompting Justice Scalia to respond: “You should not believe what you read about the court in the newspapers. It’s either been made up or been given to the newspapers by somebody who’s violating a confidence, which means that person is not reliable.”
After protesting that he would not talk about internal matters, Justice Scalia relented. “No, I haven’t had a falling out with Justice Roberts,” he said. Asked whether there had been loud words or slammed doors, he said, “No, no, nothing like that.”
More generally, Justice Scalia said his colleagues had good personal relationships even as they disagreed on legal matters. That is consistent with reports from other justices.
“There are clashes on legal questions but not personally,” he said. “The press likes to paint us as nine scorpions in a bottle, and that’s just not the case at all.”
The NY Times also covers the Zimmerman interview:
The assault happened while Mr. Zimmerman tried to pull his cellphone
out, he said. Mr. Zimmerman said he had yelled “help” repeatedly, hoping
that the police would hear him. After he shot Mr. Martin, he said, he
was “terrified” and nervous the police might shoot him if they saw him
with a gun.
Mr. O’Mara said the state’s stand-your-ground self-defense law was
appropriate for the case. The law permits people who fear great bodily
injury or death at someone else’s hands to use lethal force to defend
themselves.
Mr. Zimmerman said he had volunteered to take lie detector tests and
voice tests, which he said he had passed. “I didn’t have anything to
hide,” he said.
The interview ended with Mr. Zimmerman apologizing to the Martin family,
and to America for any racial polarization the shooting may have
caused.
To Mr. Martin’s family, “I would tell them again that I’m sorry,” he
said, adding: “I am sorry they buried their child. I can’t imagine what
it must feel like, and I pray for them daily.”