Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                            Matt Dulin    Barrett Goldsmith    Zach Lee 
                Jim Parsons            Christian Schmidt           Blake Whitaker

Off the record?

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was very much "on the record" when he apologized to two reporters Monday after a U.S. marshal confiscated their recording devices while they tried to cover a speech he was giving last week at a Mississippi high school. 

Naturally, his speech was about the Constitution -- but maybe that's off the record.

You see, the federal marshal was only enforcing Scalia's no-recording policy when he demanded Associated Press reporter Denise Grones and The Hattiesburg American reporter Antoinette Konz hand over their tapes.

Scalia, who received the Citadel of Free Speech Award last month, normally refuses to be videotaped and audio-recorded for broadcast purposes, but some confusion over whether that rule applied to print journalists ended rather badly for the fourth estate.

In his written apology to the two reporters, Scalia said he would be considering a revised policy to accommodate print journalists.

While he's at it, he should consider how he's treating the supposedly sacred free press.

The very seizure of the reporters' recordings violates federal law and defiles the spirit of the Constitution. Regardless of the medium, reporters should be able to accurately convey Scalia's message.

As a Supreme Court justice, Scalia is a custodian of the law. He should be the first to follow -- not the first to make exception. Unfortunately for him, the Constitution does not provide for Scalia's pet-peeve "policy." Imagine if other high-ranking members of our government restricted media access to their speeches and comments.

Though her recording was erased, the AP reporter was able to capture these words from the justice:

"The Constitution of the United States is extraordinary and amazing. People just don't revere it like they used to."

Did we get that on the record? Good.

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