By Ezra
Saltman says:
I certainly disagreed with many of [Rehnquist's] opinions, but he maintained an astonishing degree of intellectual integrity in his long tenure on the court. I read somewhere, and I wish I could find it on google, that he voted to strike down fewer laws than any other justice presently on the court. I don't know if that refers to a certain period of time or his whole career, so take it impressionistically, but it reveals a truly conservative approach to jurisprudence and a minimalist view of his role as as judge. The opinions of his that I've read, unlike those of some of his colleagues, are always respectful, clear and professional, and never overwrought.
Scott's also got a touching, worthy remembrance. I've been getting some indignant e-mails about my terming him a "dedicated public servant" -- he wanted to affirm Plessy! He spent years chipping away at women/minority rights! -- and the e-mails, by and large, are correct in their facts, but wrong in their conclusions.
