Although his staunch conservatism is often a point of annoyance, Scalia doesn’t hit the lows of some of his predecessors.
The death of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia on Feb. 13 has sparked a political debate. The Supreme Court is now under a great deal of scrutiny by both the public and the media as people pay their respects to Scalia and theorize about who will be appointed to take his place. Although Scalia was a highly controversial figure during the length of his tenure, let’s just hope that none of his potential replacements end up reflecting the views and actions of some rather terrible justices within history.
Often regarded as a generally horrendous Supreme Court justice, James Clark McReynolds was appointed to the bench by Woodrow Wilson in 1914. During his 27-year tenure, McReynolds publicly demonstrated a level of bigotry rarely seen somewhere as prestigious as the Supreme Court.
Bathing in racism and sexism, McReynolds in 1938 saw that an African-American lawyer was presenting a case and decided to turn his chair in the opposite direction in order to avoid looking at a man with darker skin. Whenever a woman appeared before the court, McReynolds would disdainfully remark, “I see the female is here again,” and leave the room.
McReynolds’ bad behavior extended beyond the individuals standing before the nine justices. During his entire tenure, McReynolds continuously demonstrated anti-semitic attitudes toward two Jewish justices who were appointed to the bench. On one occasion, McReynolds refused to speak with one of the new appointees for three years simply because the new justice was Jewish. When a second Jewish man was appointed to the court, McReynolds made several extremely disrespectful comments and refused to speak to the second justice for the entirety of his tenure.
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Although McReynolds may be one of the more deplorable justices to ever be a part of the Supreme Court, the justice most widely regarded as the mastermind behind the Supreme Court’s worst ruling was Roger B. Taney from Maryland, the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court.
In the 1857 landmark Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford, a slave by the name of Dred Scott argued that he was a free man because he had previously resided as a slave in Illinois and Wisconsin, two areas where slavery had been deemed illegal. Instead of following the logic of what Scott was saying, Taney took it upon himself to say that African-Americans were not citizens of the United States, and therefore did not deserve the treatment that a citizen of the United States would receive, including the right for a trial.
This heartbreaking conclusion for Scott also cemented Taney as one of the most widely reviled justices in the history of the United States of America. Undoubtedly, Taney’s actions and decisions potentially contributed to the growing tensions between the North and South and was one of the major factors for the Civil War that cost more than 600,000 lives.
Although it’s highly unlikely that someone as extreme as either McReynolds or Taney could get nominated in the present day, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to have a justice who is even-headed and, at the very least, more moderate than Scalia. The growth of the United States is based on progress, and progress only occurs with a progressive government.
To end on a brighter note, the United States can at least remember Scalia as the funniest justice ever to grace the Supreme Court. Out of six Supreme Court terms from 2004 to 2016, "Scalia produced about 40 percent of all the laughter transcribed in oral arguments." With that being said, thank you, Antonin Scalia, for your service. Rest in peace.
Richard Hwang is a student at Athens High School. What did you think about Antonin Scalia? Email him at rhwang999@gmail.com.
