The longest serving Justice on the Supreme Court died today. He had been appointed by President Ronald Reagan. By all accounts he was not only wise and scholarly, he was friendly and had a good sense of humor. He caused the Court to consider carefully what they were deciding, and to look closely at the issues and the deciding factors. Not always apparent in Judges minds.

I suppose he liked this story about why you actually need a lawyer at times: “A businessman who had consulted his attorney for some legal advice ran into a friend to whom he recounted his experience.

“But why spend money for a lawyer?’ The friend asked. “Didn’t you see all those law books while you sat in his office? Well, the answers were all there. What he told you, you could easily have read for yourself in those very books and you would have saved having to pay a big fee.”

“Yes,” said the businessman, “that’s all very true. The only difference is that the lawyer knows what page it’s on.”

Anyway, we will miss Justice Scalia for his protection of the law and the Constitution.