Bay Area Lawyers, Professors Remember Justice Scalia

The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia sent shockwaves rippling throughout the nation Saturday, with President Obama and other political figures in Washington making statements honoring the divisive yet brilliant judge.

Here in the Bay Area, his death was also a shock to some of his former colleagues at Stanford University, where Scalia was a guest lecturer, and esteemed lawyers who argued cases in front of the Supreme Court.

"Scalia was a very terrific American. Everyone forgets that he is the son of an Italian Sciscillian immigrant," said trial lawyer Joe Cotchett, who has argued before the Supreme Court several times. 'I don't agree with most any of his policies, but that's why this country is so great.'

"Justice Scalia was obviously someone who voted on what we thought of as the conservative side, but the truth of the matter is that he started with a strong approach principaled to the U.S constitution.

Scalia died in his sleep during a visit to Texas, government officials said. Prior to going to bed on Friday evening, the conservative judge had told friends that he wasn't feeling well.

Scalia was the conservative juggernaut on the bench who was notoriously against abortion, gay rights and affirmative action. His dissents and opinions are remembered for being written in a colorful, engaging style.

"Tonight we honor his extraordinary service to our nation," said President Barack Obama in a statement.

NYPost: Detectives question lack of autopsy in Scalia death
Veteran homicide investigators in New York and Washington, DC, on Monday questioned the way local and federal authorities in Texas handled the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
"It's not unreasonable to ask for an autopsy in this case, particularly knowing who he is," retired Brooklyn homicide Detective Patricia Tufo told The Post. "He's not at home. There are no witnesses to his death, and there was no reported explanation for why a pillow is over his head," Tufo said. "So I think under the circumstances it's not unreasonable to request an autopsy. Despite the fact that he has pre~existing ailments and the fact that he's almost 80 years old, you want to be sure that it's not something other than natural causes."
Bill Ritchie, a retired deputy chief and former head of criminal investigations for the DC police, said he was dumbstruck when he learned that no autopsy would be performed.
"I took a look at the report and I almost fell out of my chair," Ritchie told The Post from his home in Maryland.
"I used to be an instructor in the homicide school. Every death investigation you are handling, you consider it a homicide until the investigation proves otherwise," Ritchie said.

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