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December 2, 2008 7:15:20 PM CST

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Scalia Joins Majority, but Not Happily

Posted Jun 28, 07 8:24 AM CDT in US,  Politics,  Glossies 

(Newser) – The high court may have a new conservative majority, but it's not exactly a lovey-dovey one, judging from Antonin Scalia's withering concurring opinions on two recent decisions, the New York Times reports.  Although he voted with the majority, Scalia blasted Chief Justice John Roberts for downplaying the impact of the decisions. "This faux judicial restraint is judicial obfuscation," he snarked in one.

By not going far enough in overturning precedent, Scalia argues, the Supreme Court leaves lower courts at a loss as to which standard to apply. The major difference between Scalia and Roberts, notes a law professor, is not their positions but how fast they want the law to change. "It is the difference between bomb throwing and dismantling."

Source New York Times

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Antonin Scalia   (Getty Images)
United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia during a conversation about the Constitution hosted by NBC's Tim Russert at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. on Thursday   (KRT Photos)
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Discusses Religion And The Constitution   (Getty Images)
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Gives Speech In Philadelphia   (Getty Images)
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