The single biggest development affecting class actions — and many other areas of the law — in the past three months was the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Rarely has the ability of so many people to obtain justice been affected so greatly by the passing of one person.
Scalia stated his views so starkly that it may be difficult, at least in the short run, to separate the impact of his jurisprudence from the impact of his performance. He did not do meek. He powerfully advocated some substantive rights, like the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. He vehemently opposed other substantive rights, like the rights protected by the Voting Rights Act, which he called a “perpetuation of racial entitlement.” He took strong positions on procedural issues, too — especially class actions.
