Why did Scalia vote against DOMA? I do not get it. I also cannot speak/understand legalese.
Scalia didn’t vote against DOMA. He and Roberts believed that there was no jurisdiction in DOMA. The DOMA decision was 5-4 along ideological lines with Kennedy giving the liberals a majority.
Where Scalia and Thomas disagreed was on Prop 8, which was also a 5-4 decision but certainly not along ideological lines. That one was Roberts, Scalia, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan in the majority and Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, and Sotomayor in the minority. Very strange bedfellows, IMHO. It’s been like that a few times recently.