|
 "We remember his incisive intellect, his agile wit and his
captivating prose. But we cannot forget his irrepressible spirit,"
Roberts said of Scalia, a conservative who served three decades on
the court before his Feb. 13 death at age 79.
In remarks before arguments held in two cases, Roberts said Scalia
wrote 282 majority opinions. "He was also known, on occasion to
dissent," Roberts joked, referring to Scalia's trenchant opinions
when on the losing side.
Inside the court's white marble and crimson-draped chamber, Scalia's
black-draped chair stood empty alongside the eight remaining
justices.
The second of the arguments, a Utah criminal case, illustrated the
difficulties the shorthanded court may face in making divisive
rulings while divided evenly ideologically, with four conservatives
and four liberals.
President Barack Obama is preparing to nominate Scalia's successor.
Leading Senate Republicans have vowed to block any nominee from the
Democratic president, with the court's balance of power at stake.
Utah officials appealed a lower-court ruling that key evidence
against Edward Strieff, convicted of methamphetamine possession and
a related drug charge, was inadmissible because it violated the U.S.
Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.
Sonia Sotomayor and other liberal justices signaled support for
Strieff. Roberts and fellow conservative Samuel Alito appeared more
supportive of Utah.
His lawyers contend Strieff's constitutional rights were violated
because although there was an existing warrant for his arrest, the
police officer did not know that when he stopped Strieff's vehicle
and found incriminating evidence.
[to top of second column] |
Sotomayor said a ruling in their favor could encourage police to
stop people without good reason, hoping a warrant existed that would
permit a search.
"What stops us from becoming a police state?" Sotomayor asked.
Sotomayor said such a ruling would disproportionately impact cities
where a large number of people have outstanding arrest warrants such
as Ferguson, Missouri, where a white policeman killed an unarmed
black 18-year-old in 2014, sparking protests.
A ruling favoring police could give them "very good incentive for
just standing on the street corner ... and asking every citizen,
'Give me your ID,'" Sotomayor said.
Roberts said it would be "bad police work" not to check for a
warrant.
Scalia had backed police in similar cases. His absence increases the
chances of a 4-4 split in which the lower-court ruling would stand
but no national precedent would be set.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
