Justice Scalia Publicly Chastised A Lawyer For Reading From His Notes

Reuters//Kevin LamarqueU.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia speaks at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.

What an awkward exchange in the opening of Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, between Justice Scalia and Steven Lechner, who was making his first appearance before the Nine.

Lechner began with the customary, "Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the Court," and continued on for about a page in the transcript, when he was interrupted by Justice Scalia.

Oh isn't that uncomfortable.

A moment later, Justice Breyer kindly intervened:

Lyle reported on the exchange:

Pardon the French, but this is a dick move by Justice Scalia. Just because he wears a robe does not entitle him to be a jerk, and embarrass the lawyer for something like this. Scalia can be annoying, and pester lawyers on the merits, but attacking him for reading (what seemed to be a position Scalia agrees with!) is uncalled for. I understand judges at all levels are often mean and discourteous to the litigants, but generally at the Supreme Court both the bar and bench try to comport themselves at a higher level.

Robert Thomas adds at the Inverse Condemnation Blog:

These types of comments ensure that only those inside the Supreme Court bar will be qualified to argue at One First Street.

Josh Blackman is the author of "Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge To Obamacare," which can be purchased here.