The Justice Who Changed How Laws Are Read

Antonin Scalia transformed the American legal system by insisting that laws must be interpreted exactly as they were written. His strict focus on original intent forced courts to look at historical context instead of evolving social trends.

Before Scalia, many judges were comfortable interpreting the spirit of the law to adapt to modern times. Scalia argued that this allowed judges to essentially rewrite the Constitution based on their personal preferences. By championing textualism, he shifted the entire focus of legal debates toward the literal meaning of words. His influence was so profound that even his fiercest ideological rivals had to adopt his methodology to make their cases.