Scalia-ism!!!!!

Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003

South Carolina rezoned part of the beach so that Lucas could not build on his land. This is a Taking's Clause case (whether the government needs to compensate you for effectively taking your land). Scalia's opinion needs no introduction, but I am going to skip to footnote 28 for the purpose of expediency.

Here, he speaks of how a standard of requiring the legislature to cite a harm-preventing justification is a less than useful standard:

"Since such a justification can be formulated in practically every case, this amounts to a test of whether the legislature has a stupid staff." (emphasis added)

Next week: Scalia teaches us how to place asterisks in a judicial opinion in the shape of the middle finger being waived at hippies.


Update: Henry Blackmun Responds in the Dissent

"Today the Court launches a missile to kill a mouse" - translation: 'oh snap'