IN ANGRY DISSENT, JUSTICE SCALIA SETS OFF FIRE ALARMS IN SUPREME COURT BUILDINGWASHINGTON - In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court today ruled in Bob Haas v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that the Preamble to the Constitution is unconstitutional because it calls for "Blessings" from a higher power, which the opinion concluded is forbidden by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The offending language states: "We the People of the United States, in Order to . . . secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Justice Stephen Breyer's majority opinion concluded that the Framers of the Constitution must have intended to call upon blessings from a higher power in the preamble because the "B" in "Blessings" is capitalized. Two pages later, however, Breyer conceded that, in fact, "the usage of capital letters by the Framers of the Constitution, like the fancy calligraphy, was largely meaningless; the Framers not only were prone to scrivener excesses but, in general, acted without rhyme or reason." Regardless, the opinion explained, "this has never deterred this Court from twisting and contorting the Framers' ambiguous words to suit one modern agenda or another." Accordingly, and without further explanation, the opinion held that "the word 'Blessings' references blessings from a deity, and that such reference is unconstitutional."
In her concurring opinion, Justice Ginsburg agreed and added, "I would go so far as to say the entire document [the Constitution] probably is unconstitutional, but that question is not before the Court today."
In an angry dissent, Justice Scalia set off the fire alarms throughout the Supreme Court building, which was evacuated as a safety precaution.
