During a recent interview on National Public Radio, Justice Antonin Scalia explained his view that the U.S. Constitution is “dead” and should be treated as if it were. It should be viewed as it was by our forefathers in 1791. Any attempt to interpret for today opens the door for individual justices to insert their own ideas.

  Nina Totenberg, NPR’s Supreme Court correspondent, was quick to note that means if capital punishment was constitutional then, it is constitutional now. Would the same hold true if a city wanted to bring back public stockades today?

  Scalia responded that if they were constitutional then, they would be today … regardless of whether it was a “stupid” idea.

  Totenberg also asked Scalia about the harsh tone he takes when writing about colleagues on the Supreme Court who disagree with him. The nearly 9-minute segment can be found online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89986017.

  Scalia has been promoting the new book that he wrote with lexicographer Brian Garner. The book is called “Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges”. An additional interview with Scalia and Garner can be found at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90001031.

  Love him or hate him, there is no denying, Scalia is a force to be reckoned with on the Supreme Court. The interviews offer an opportunity to hear directly from the man behind the sometimes acerbic decisions and dissents.