5 ms·
While Scalia was an excellent writer (yet, not quite as clear as Richard Posner or Alex Kozinski), I think it's unfair to dismiss Thomas. Personally, I found h
by strlen 11y ago
While Scalia was an excellent writer (yet, not quite as clear as Richard Posner or Alex Kozinski), I think it's unfair to dismiss Thomas.
Personally, I found his dissent in Gonzales v. Raich quite interesting and principled: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZD1.html https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZD1.html
Thomas' Concurrence in McDonald vs. Chicago is also very interesting, as it takes a very different approach to 14th amendment incorporation -- in a relatively unique situation where a judge had to incorporate a BoR amendment that has not been incorporated against the state/local government before -- from the approach that used in nearly all the major civil rights/liberties related decisions over the last 75 years:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-1521.ZC1.html https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-1521.ZC1.html
Personally, I find the cases where he disagrees with Scalia, or concurs with an Alito/Scalia majority opinion to be quite illuminating.
- vannevar 11y agoI wouldn't dismiss him, no. But everything is relative, and personally I find his opinions to be pedestrian compared to his other conservative colleagues. Judging by the relative infrequency of his majority opinions, I gather they feel similarly.