Scalia and Garner, political odd couple
Law professor Bryan Garner may have written two books with Justice Antonin G. Scalia. But politically the two don’t always see eye-to-eye, Garner said.
“I will tell you that my political beliefs are different from those of Justice Scalia,” Garner said in an appearance with the Supreme Court’s most senior associate justice Monday at Southern Methodist University, where Garner teaches.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Garner said he supports gay marriage and stricter gun laws. Scalia, for his part, replied to Garner: “I haven’t expressed my views of either of those. You’re a bleeding heart.”
But, Garner said, the two legal scholars put their political differences aside and focus on their shared commitment to legal interpretation when writing their books, Garner said.
Scalia wrote the opinion in the landmark Second Amendment case D.C. v. Heller, and the justices will take up two same-sex marriage cases later this term. But Scalia said at the event Monday that his personal views don’t always line up with his legal opinions. “The judge who always likes the results he reaches is a bad judge,” Scalia said.
