Late Justice Antonin Scalia, it turns out, once said who he wanted to replace him on the Supreme Court.
In a 2012 C-Span interview discussing his book Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, Scalia disclosed that he'd like to be succeeded by Seventh Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook.
"If there is one other judicial name associated with the two principal theories of this book—textualism and originalism—it is Frank Easterbrook,” Scalia said. “If I had to pick somebody to replace me on the Supreme Court, it would be Frank."
Easterbrook likewise had positive feelings toward Scalia, writing in a foreword to Reading Law, "This book is a great event in American legal culture."
Despite their kinship, the two had widely differing views on gun control, ABC News points out: Easterbrook, who was appointed by Reagan in '84, upheld a Chicago handgun ban (which Scalia went on to successfully vote to reverse). He also ruled to allow Highland Park, IL, to ban semi-automatic weapons, a decision that earned derision from the NRA.
Today, Scalia's casket is in the Supreme Court, where it rests on the same wooden catafalque used for Lincoln and other presidents and justices. On Saturday, there will be a funeral Mass for Scalia at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. [ABC]
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