well....Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and address reality I guess. I am a great admirer of Justice Scalia and think he writes some of the finest opinions in the last fifty years. But even great men can screw up sometimes. In this issue Justice Scalia used extraordinarily bad judgement. Even the most novice judge on any circuit court in America knows that ex parte meetings between a sitting judge and a plaintiff or defendant in a pending case is a no-no. It would be immediate cause for appeal. There can be no appeal since this is a SCOTUS case. At Minimum Judge Scalia should have foregone the pleasures of Duck Hunting and Dinners with the defendant in this case regardless of his prior friendship. After the case he could have shot the hell out of as many ducks (within the bag limit laws) as he liked with the Vice President.
Scalia used extremely bad judgement here. He should recuse himself. The Sierra Club shouldn't even have to ask.
The term
ex parte only applies if you discuss the case or pending case without the other side being present.
If Justice Scalia and VP Cheney talked guns, ducks and how well the dogs retrieved, the conversations were not improper.
Judges and lawyers talk socially all the time. Go to the courthouse coffee shop and you will see several tables of judges and lawyers at break times. They go to parties and charity fundraisers and chat about the weather and how fat they are getting.