Antonin Scalia: the judge whose conservatism shaped America | Martin Kettle

The supreme court judge’s fundamentalist approach to the US constitution makes his death an intellectual as well as political landmark

Few British judges ever become great public figures in a wider sense. Most of them prefer it that way. American judges, by contrast, have always been different, not just because the constitutional separation of powers necessarily makes them more prominent, but also because the process of their appointment is overtly politicised. The president nominates new supreme court justices, and the Senate must confirm them. This goes some of the way to explaining why the death at the weekend of Justice Antonin Scalia is such a significant public event.

Related: Antonin Scalia: man of his word who shaped America in life and in death

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