Scalia

[Raymond Kessler]

Although some have criticized the quote, it makes sense to me.  For instance, in warrantless search and seizure cases under the 4th Amend the Court balances the degree of intrusion against the government interest.  There is no common scale by which both of these can be objectively measured and then compared.  If Scalia is saying that balancing tests are very imprecise I agree.  If he is saying they are often very subjective,  I agree.  

 

Ray Kessler

Prof. of  Criminal Justice

Sul Ross State Univ.

 

 

 

From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu [mailto:conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Duncan
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 11:21 AM
To: conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
Subject: Re: Scalia

 


Thanks to all who responded. The precise quotation is: 

This process is ordinarily called “balancing,” but the scale analogy is not really appropriate, since the interests on both sides are incommensurate. It is more like judging whether a particular line is longer than a particular rock is heavy.

Bendix Autolite Corp. v Midwesco Enterprises, 486 U.S. 888, 897 (1988) 

I have to admit I like the way I misremembered it better: "whether a rock is heavier than a string is long." But it is what it is.

Cheers, Rick



 

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