Scalia Eschews Foreign Views

Supreme Court citing more foreign cases
Scalia : Only U.S. views are
relevant

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s reference to foreign law in a ruling
last month that overturned state anti-sodomy statutes stood out as if
it were in bold print and capital letters.

Never before had the Supreme Court’s majority cited a foreign legal
precedent in such a big case. In the Texas case, Scalia wrote that ”the
court’s discussion of these
foreign views (ignoring, of course, the many countries that have retained
criminal prohibitions on sodomy) is … meaningless dicta. Dangerous
dicta, however, since this court should not impose foreign moods, fads,
or fashions on Americans.”

by Joan Biskupic in USA TODAY