He was confirmed on Constitution Day, September 17, 1986, to the nation's highest court with a unanimous Senate vote. To many who'd known Antonin Scalia it wasn't a surprise, because more than any lawyer in recent history, he held in such high esteem not just the words of the Constitution (and their original meaning) but the Constitution's structur...
READ MOREJohn LaFalce picked up Antonin Scalia at the Buffalo airport in 1993. On the ride into town, they talked about an opening at the Supreme Court for which President Bill Clinton had yet to make a nomination. “Scalia told me, ‘If that president of yours had any sense, he’d appoint Ruth Bader Ginsburg,’ ” says LaFalce, who was then a Democratic member...
READ MORELong before they became federal appeals court judges, Supreme Court justices, travel companions and New Year's Eve celebrants together, Ruth Bader Ginsburg watched Antonin Scalia speak to the American Bar Association. As she would for decades to come, Ginsburg disagreed with Scalia's thesis. But, she recalled in 2014, "he said it in an absolutely c...
READ MORESince their large-scale influx from the homeland in the late 19th century, Italian Americans have rendered their distinct pattern on the cultural fabric with their food, fashions, expressions and mores. Many have gone on to prominence in sports, academia and public service, overcoming perceptions of their limitations along the way, while a select f...
READ MOREPresident Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will nominate Gene Scalia, former Justice Antonin Scalia's son, as secretary of labor -- replacing Alex Acosta, who resignedover the fallout from the plea deal he negotiated for Jeffrey Epstein in 2008. "I am pleased to announce that it is my intention to nominate Gene Scalia as the new Secretary...
READ MOREThe late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia clearly demonstrated how far Italian Americans have risen in the U.S. since our ancestors arrived more than a century ago. Aside from the presidency, there is no more important or prestigious position in our country than being a Supreme Court Justice. And we had not just one, but two, including Justice...
READ MOREThe National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) applauds the White House for posthumously awarding Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. When President Reagan appointed Justice Scalia in 1986, he was the first Italian American judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court in the United States’ history and served...
READ MOREI’m going to offer occasional glimpses at the wonderful collection of Justice Scalia’s speeches in Scalia Speaks. With Columbus Day just around the corner, I figured that I’d highlight the opening speech in the collection: Justice Scalia’s speech to the National Italian American Foundation in October 1986—just one month after he became the first It...
READ MOREU.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appeared this week on CBS’ “Sunday Morning” to discuss the legacy of her late colleague Justice Antonin Scalia in connection with the imminent publication of a volume of Scalia’s public speeches. A volume of the late justice’s public remarks called “Scalia Speaks” will appear on Oct. 3. The book was ed...
READ MOREThere are several books that tell in many ways one or more aspects of the Italian American community; and there are some that have been entrusted with the mission of telling it in its entirety. Some of these works are excellent, but in these days a book is coming out that promises to give a never seen before picture of the Italian American experien...
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