President Obama:
Good evening, everybody. For
almost 30 years, Justice Antonin “Nino” Scalia was a larger-than-life presence
on the bench -- a brilliant legal mind with an energetic style, incisive wit,
and colorful opinions.
He influenced a generation of judges,
lawyers, and students, and profoundly shaped the legal landscape. He will
no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to
serve on the Supreme Court. Justice Scalia dedicated his life to the
cornerstone of our democracy: The rule of law. Tonight, we honor
his extraordinary service to our nation and remember one of the towering legal
figures of our time.
Antonin Scalia was born in Trenton, New
Jersey to an Italian immigrant family. After graduating from Georgetown
University and Harvard Law School, he worked at a law firm and taught law
before entering a life of public service. He rose from Assistant Attorney
General for the Office of Legal Counsel to Judge on the D.C. Circuit Court, to
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
A devout Catholic, he was the proud
father of nine children and grandfather to many loving grandchildren.
Justice Scalia was both an avid hunter and an opera lover -- a passion for
music that he shared with his dear colleague and friend, Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsberg. Michelle and I were proud to welcome him to the White House,
including in 2012 for a State Dinner for Prime Minister David Cameron.
And tonight, we join his fellow justices in mourning this remarkable man.
Obviously, today is a time to remember
Justice Scalia’s legacy. I plan to fulfill my constitutional
responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. There will be plenty of
time for me to do so, and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give
that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. These are responsibilities that I
take seriously, as should everyone. They’re bigger than any one party. They
are about our democracy. They’re about the institution to which Justice Scalia
dedicated his professional life, and making sure it continues to function as
the beacon of justice that our Founders envisioned.
But at this moment, we most of all want to
think about his family, and Michelle and I join the nation in sending our
deepest sympathies to Justice Scalia’s wife, Maureen, and their loving family
-- a beautiful symbol of a life well lived. We thank them for sharing
Justice Scalia with our country.
God bless them all, and God bless the
United States of America.
Vice President Biden:
Jill and I send our deepest condolences
to Maureen and the entire Scalia family on the loss of their beloved husband,
father, and grandfather. Justice Scalia and I had fundamental disagreements
about how the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, but we shared a belief
that sharp debates, tough questions, and deep respect for the adversarial
process was an essential part of our judicial system and our democracy. That’s
how our rule of law—forged with the deep principles and convictions of
justices, and laid out in majority decisions and minority dissents—becomes the
model for the world. For the country, Justice Scalia will be remembered as one
of our most influential justices, who inspired and challenged generations of
students, clerks, lawyers, and judges. And for so many, he will be remembered
as a mentor, dear friend, and a man devoted to his faith and his family, who
will miss him most of all, and who we
will keep in our prayers.
Source: The White House, Office of the
Press Secretary and Vice President
