Scalia was at Texas ranch with members of exclusive hunting society and former GOP lawyer
Members of an exclusive hunting society were among those at a Texas ranch where Justice Antonin Scalia died last weekend.
One leader of the hunting fraternity is C. Allen Foster, a friend who accompanied Scalia to the ranch, the Washington Post reports. Foster is a prominent lawyer who once represented the Republican Party and argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993.
The hunting society, the International Order of St. Hubertus, was formed in 1695. The Post describes it this way:
“Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto ‘Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes,’ which means ‘Honoring God by honoring His creatures,’ according to the group’s website. Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer. The Order’s name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and fishermen.”
Ranch owner John Poindexter, also a leader in the order, told the Washington Post he wasn’t aware of any connection between Scalia and the group.
Foster, a 74-year-old senior counsel with Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, is traveling in Argentina, a secretary at his firm told the Post. He and Scalia “shared a love of food, wine and hunting,” the Washington Post reports in this article.
When Foster argued on behalf of Hispanic Republicans in the 1993 Supreme Court case, Scalia did not go easy on him, according to the Post. It isn’t clear when Foster and Scalia became friends. Foster has no pending cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Legal ethicists saw no problems with the friendship. New York University law professor Stephen Gillers said the 1993 argument did not present a problem. “Twenty years ago? It’s not even close,” he told the Washington Post. “Lawyers wouldn’t blink at that.’’
