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Scalia Speaks at Chapman University Law School Anniversary

Posted on: Wednesday, 31 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

Aug. 30--ORANGE -- Appointed judges shouldn't be charged with the task of making moral decisions about society's rights and wrongs, because they don't know more than anyone else, Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told a packed house at Chapman University on Monday night.

"Surely it is obvious that nothing I learned in law school qualified me to decide whether there is a fundamental right to abortion or assisted suicide," said Scalia, 69, an Italian-American father of nine appointed by Ronald Reagan.

"It is blindingly clear that judges have no greater capacity than the rest of us to determine what is moral."

Speaking at an event to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Chapman's law school, Scalia decried the trend in American jurisprudence that has led the courts to interpret the U.S. Constitution as a document that changes with the times.

This requires judges, Scalia said, to make decisions about issues that have no scientific right and wrong, and has mired judicial appointments in political partisanship.

"When I was appointed, I was confirmed by 98-0 vote in the Senate," Scalia said. He took his seat in 1986. Today, he said, he did not think he would even be confirmed to a lower court.

He also referred to the upcoming battles over Supreme Court nominations, drawing laughter from the mostly legal crowd present, which included many judges.

"Each year the conflict over judicial appointments has grown more intense," Scalia said. "One is tempted to shield his eyes from the upcoming spectacle."

The university spent several months arranging Scalia's appearance, along with that of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, to fete its 10th anniversary.

Chapman law student John Bailey arrived for his first class an hour early Monday, only to find that the parking garage was unusually full. His 9 a.m. class on constitutional law was jammed, too, with nervous students excitedly waiting for their guest instructor: Scalia, a former law professor.

"When he grabbed the roll and said, "Who am I going to call on," I almost jumped out of my chair," Bailey remembered, laughing.

Monday's events included the re-creation of arguments from Lochner v. State of New York, a 1905 case involving whether the state had the right to ban a bakery owner from working his staff more than 10 hours a day.

Scalia played the role of Chief Justice Melville Fuller, while Lockyer represented the state of New York. Chapman law professor John Eastman represented plaintiff Joseph Lochner.

Chapman officials said they're glad to leave behind the long struggles to launch the new school, including struggles to win accreditation, student lawsuits and battles with Old Towne Orange historic preservationists.

The law school opened in 1995 in a vacant office building in Anaheim, taking whatever students it could attract, and struggled for years to earn American Bar Association accreditation -- a requirement to attract top-caliber students.

Accreditation woes led to lawsuits from more than a dozen students, who complained that the school had misled them about its status.

Ultimately, a jury agreed that Chapman had deceived them, but awarded no damages since the college did eventually become accredited, enabling them to sit for the bar exam in any state.

Chapman struggled initially over plans to turn the old Orange Unified School District headquarters into a law school, disagreeing with preservationists over how much of the building should be saved. Ultimately, a compromise was reached where the facade was saved, with a new law school built behind it.

In recent years, the law school has seen increased state bar pass rates, an important gauge of its educational success.

The school is also attracting students with higher entering test scores, and now has a class of 540 and 35 full-time instructors.

Chapman President Jim Doti said he expects the college's reputation to improve in coming years, a key element in attracting top students.

"Now we're preparing to move ahead with adding to the library holdings and assisting the faculty in scholarly publications," Dean Parham Williams said.

Known for his witty and outspoken opinions, Scalia drew laughter from the crowd repeatedly during the day.

Introduced by Chapman professor Eastman, who read several of Scalia's quirky, humorous opinions, he noted that many were dissenting opinions.

Scalia responded that "dissents are more fun."

"You can say what you want to say and there's no one to say, 'Take that out,'" Scalia said.

In a majority opinion, "A lot of good stuff ends up on the cutting-room floor," he said.

CHRONOLOGY OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW

--August 1994: Chapman University announces plans to open a law school.

--August 1995: Classes begin in leased office space in Anaheim. City of Anaheim tries to persuade the university to build its law school in downtown Anaheim, to no avail.

--1996: Chapman buys a 4.2-acre site of the Orange Unified School District's former headquarters for a law school across from the main campus on Glassell Street. A fight with preservationists follows about how much renovation should be allowed. Parham Williams appointed dean.

--January 1997: First bid for American Bar Association accreditation fails. Students sue the school, saying they were deceived about accreditation status.

--May 1997: Chapman appeals the decision and loses. Officials develop a long-term plan to meet the association' demands.

--September 1997: Nearly 50 unsatisfied students take a tuition buyout.

--February 1998: Chapman wins provisional ABA accreditation.

--May 1998: First law students graduate with all privileges of bar association graduates.

--1999: New 132,000-square-foot law school opens.

--2001: Law library ranked among the five best in the nation.

--September 2001: A jury decides Chapman deliberately deceived its first students about accreditation; no damages awarded to 13 plaintiffs. Other suits are pending.

--Aug. 6, 2002: Chapman wins full ABA accreditation.

Sources: Register archives, Chapman University

Compiled by News Researcher Michael Doss and Marla Jo Fisher

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Source: The Orange County Register

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