Antonin Scalia '60 (1936-2016)

Credit: Justin Ide/Harvard University News Office

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow issued the following statement upon news of the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia '60:

Justice Scalia will be remembered as one of the most influential jurists in American history

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow

"Justice Scalia will be remembered as one of the most influential jurists in American history -- he changed how the Court approaches statutory interpretation, and in countless areas introduced new ways of thinking about the Constitution and the role of the Court that will remain important for years to come. He was a man of great learning. He was also one of the most effective writers in the history of the Court, and he had an exceptional gift for the memorable phrase. He had a terrific sense of humor, which was accompanied by great personal warmth. At Harvard Law School we are deeply grateful that he returned so often to meet with our students, to judge our moot court competitions, and -- as he so loved to do -- joust with law professors and students alike. He will be greatly missed. We are so proud to host the annual Scalia lecture series, and we will honor his legacy in that way and others in the future."

Antonin Scalia: Harvard Law School Class of 1960 Credit: HLS Yearbook 1960

Justice Scalia's last appearance at Harvard Law School was in November of 2014, when he came for the inaugural lecture in a series of lectures established in his honor. That day, he was in the audience to hear his longtime friend and colleague, The Honorable Frank Easterbrook of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, deliver the inaugural Scalia lecture.

Credit: Martha StewartOn Nov. 17, 2014, Antonin Scalia (left), associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, attended the inaugural lecture given by his former colleague, Judge Frank H. Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

During that same visit, Justice Scalia judged the final round of the Law School's 2014 Ames Moot Court Competition in characteristic style, treating the student oralists to a genuine experience of what it was like to appear and argue before him in the United States Supreme Court.

Credit: Martha Stewart