January 28, 2005
Judges should be guided only by what the Constitution actually says
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says judges should be guided only by what the Constitution actually says when it comes to deciding religious cases. In early March, the Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of government displays of the Ten Commandments. Lower courts have splintered over whether such exhibits in town squares and courthouses violate ‘separation of church and state’ — words that never appear in the Constitution. In a speech sponsored by the Ave Maria School of Law, Scalia said, ‘The Constitution says what it says and does not say what it does not say.’ Justice Scalia said it is wrong for judges to think of the Constitution as a ‘living’ document to be interpreted differently in changing times. [AP]