Scalia's Speech Criticizes Court's Approach To 1st Amendment Religion Cases

In a speech at the University of Virginia Law School this week, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia took issue with the way in which a majority of the Supreme Court articulates its Establishment Clause doctrines. Yesterday's Hampton Roads (VA) Daily Press reports that in receiving the the Thomas Jefferson Medal in Law, Scalia said that Jefferson never intended to banish religion from government. Scalia argued that the abstract "principle of neutrality" set out in religion cases gives way when a court is faced with a long-standing tradition, such as prayer in legislative bodies.