Scalia says government shutdown is 'not my business'
File photo of U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia courtesy
of ABA Media Services.
Justice Antonin Scalia is apparently unperturbed and so far unaffected by the government shutdown.
In an appearance Wednesday at Tufts University, Scalia said it’s “not my business” whether it was worth shutting down the government in the battle over the new health-care law. “I have a deal with the Congress,” he said. “I leave them alone. They leave me alone.” The Boston Herald and the Associated Press covered the Supreme Court justice’s remarks.
Scalia said he had not lost any staff so far as a result of the shutdown and it has not affected his ability to work. The press accounts also report these remarks:
• Scalia said it’s possible for a law to be really stupid, but still be constitutional.
• Scalia responded with a quip when a Boston Herald reporter prepared to ask a question. “Can’t scare me,” Scalia said. “I have life tenure.” In the past, the Herald photographed Scalia making what he called a “Sicilian” gesture with his hand under his chin.
• Scalia’s most difficult case involved a Native American who was adopted off a reservation without a tribal counsel’s consent. Federal law required the court to take the child away from the adoptive family and “that really rubbed me against the grain.” (A December story by the Times says the 1989 case actually involved twins and was a prequel to the Baby Veronica case, in which the court ruled for the adoptive family in June.)
