There were hundreds of protestors just outside the Conference, including a contingent from Voter March New York that came up by Charter bus.  Inside the Conference, Voter March Chairman Lou Posner, Esq. introduced himself as a New York attorney and asked Scalia "Your Honor, you have discussed the ethics of lawyers, while little or nothing has been said about the ethics of Judges.  There has been much controversy over your decision in Bush v. Gore including accusations that you acted unethically.  Could you please respond to these accusations?"   Justice Scalia responded "Yes, I didn't" in a smug and cavalier manner.  Posner then responded "No further questions" to remind Scalia that he should be on trial for his crimes.   Chris Acosta, Voter March National Steering Committee, never made it to the question and answer session as he was ejected from the Conference for exercising his First Amendment rights when he exclaimed "Ethics - Ha, Ha, Ha."  The protests and Acosta's encounter with Scalia were mentioned in Question of Ethics for Scalia - Election ruling sparks protest at Hofstra talk, News Day, Sept. 10, 2001. 

Quotes from the Bar and academia:

"Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the law." 
--John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Dissent Opinion on Florida Vote Recount.

"[In Bush v. Gore, Antonin Scalia] peeked beneath the blindfold of justice and decided the case not on neutral principles or precedents designed to govern future cases, but rather on the basis of whom he wanted to see win this election. In doing so he violated his judicial oath to do justice ‘without respect to persons. ...’"
-Prof. Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard Law School

"The Supreme Court decision effectively handing the presidency to George W. Bush reveals the intensely partisan nature of the Court's current majority. The Court, to be sure, has always been political, but rarely as blatantly as today. Nor are there many precedents for Justices trampling on their own previous convictions to reach a predetermined conclusion."
–Prof. Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History,  Columbia University              

"By stopping the vote count in Florida, the United States  Supreme Court used its power to act as political partisans, not just judges of a court of law. We are professors at 137 American law schools, from every part of our country, of different political beliefs. But we all agree that when a bare majority of the U.S. Supreme Court halted the recount of ballots under Florida law, the five justices were acting as political proponents for candidate Bush, not as judges."

-Statement of 637 Law Professors lawprofs@the-rule-of-law.com

"[The Supreme Court majority in Bush v. Gore has] made it impossible for citizens of the United States to sustain any kind of faith in the rule of law as something larger than the self-interested political preferences of William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, and Sandra Day O'Connor."

-Prof. Jeffrey Rosen, George Washington University Law School

"Having Justice Antonin Scalia speak on ethics is like having a prostitute speak on sexual abstinence.  Scalia was the  leader of the five Supreme Court Justices who, on December 12, committed one of the biggest and most serious crimes in American history when they stopped the recount in Florida, took the election away from the American people, and handed it to George Bush.  In a fair and just world, Scalia should only be speaking from behind prison bars, not at a distinguished American University.  After he did what he did how dare he have the stratospheric audacity to speak about ethics?  Scalia is a disgrace to the judiciary and to the legal profession."
 - Vincent Bugliosi, author of  "The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined The Constitution and Chose Our President" 

"At least two judges should have recused themselves - Justice Scalia whose son was an attorney in the same law firm as Ted Olson, who pleaded the Bush case before the Court.  In our system of Justice, grounds for recusal are based not on an understanding that there is an impropriety - but merely on the basis that there is, or could be, the appearance of an impropriety."
 - Louis Posner, New York attorney, founder and National Chairman of Voter March, 
The Democracy Chronicle, Vol. 1, No. 1, Interview, p. 10

Protest Itinerary and Sponsorship

A protest was held at the Hofstra University School of Law on Sunday, September 9, where Antonin Scalia, one of the 5 Supreme Court Justices who stopped the hand counting of votes in Bush v. Gore, is being honored and will give a keynote address at the Legal Ethics 2001 Conference.   

The protest was sponsored by the Canon 2 Coalition, an association of Hofstra faculty, Alumni, Students, and friends opposed to the honoring of Antonin Scalia because of his unethical conduct in violation of Canon 2 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges:

"A Judge should respect and comply with the law and should act at all times in a manner that promotes confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."

Scalia was scheduled to be a speaker from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Hofstra Student Center (at the Statute of Thomas Jefferson).  The demonstration was held on Sunday, September 9, 2001 at 3:30 pm at the Hofstra Student Center - North Entrance.

At 6:30 pm there was also a banquet in honor of Justice Antonin Scalia.  The banquet was at Carlton on the Park at Eisenhower Park, near Hofstra University School of Law.  We continued the protest during the dinner from 6:30 pm to about 8:00 pm.

ENDORSERS LIST:

Canon 2 Coalition (Hofstra University)
Voter March (National)
Voter March New York
Millennium Democrats (Long island) 
Democrats.com
Democracy March

Endorsers are responsible for notifying their membership and helping to mobilize protestors.  If your organization wants to be listed as an endorser, please email to ScaliaProtest@votermarch.org  We will also hot link to your website.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND VOLUNTEERS:

For additional information, click on the Hofstra Law School website section for the 2001 Legal Ethics Conference.   

Registration is $100 for the Sunday Conference, $50 for students and senior citizens and free for Hofstra students.  To obtain a pdf format registration form, click on Registration Materials.

A Press Conference and rally was held on Thursday, September 6th at 10:00 am in front of the State Supreme Court Building in Minneola, New York. 

Protests of the "Felonious Five" U.S. Supreme Court Injustices have been held all over the country since the Supreme Court decisions on December 9th and 12th.  On January 23, 2001, a protest was held at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego where Scalia was speaking.  Click here for Real Video clip.   In February 2001, we protested against Scalia's speech and appearance at Princeton University.

For additional information, to be a volunteer or to be on our email list, email to ScaliaProtest@votermarch.org    

To join the Planning Committee, email to:  ScaliaProtest-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or call the Voter March Hotline at 212-492-5175.

NEWS ARTICLES:

Question of Ethics for Scalia -Election ruling sparks protest at Hofstra talk, News Day, Sept. 10, 2001

Scalia Speech at Hofstra Law Facing Protest, News Day, Sept. 6, 2001

Anti-Scalia Rally Won't Be Held Up, News Day, Sept. 7, 2001

Press Statement,  by Thomas Kiely, Voter March NY Director, Mineola Court House, Sept. 6, 2001

FLYERS:

To download and print our Scalia Protest Flyer in pdf format, click on Flyer. 

PETITION TO DEAN OF HOFSTRA LAW SCHOOL

I, the undersigned, condemn the actions of Hofstra Law School in honoring at an ethics conference Antonin Scalia who acted totally unethical in the decision in Bush v. Gore and I fully support the protests at Hofstra University.  To view the entire petition and submit your online signature, click on Hofstra Petition

TRAVEL AND DIRECTIONS:

Hofstra University is located in Hempstead, Long island, about 25 miles east of Manhattan, less than an hour away by train or automobile.

CHARTER BUS TICKETS FROM MANHATTAN:

Voter March New York will have a Charter bus leaving Grand Central on Sunday at 1:30 pm from East 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, across from Grand Central Station.  At 5:00 pm the bus will provide shuttle service to the second protest site at Eisenhower park.  The bus will depart Long Island at 7:30 pm and arrive back in New York City at 8:30 pm.  The cost of a round trip ticket is only $16 which includes shuttle service.  Tickets may be purchased on the date of departure by cash at the bus. 

Travel directions to Hofstra University by car: