"Reading Dante is unquestionably more cultured and intellectually edifying than playing Mortal Kombat. But these cultural and intellectual differences are not constitutional ones." - Antonin Scalia (1936 - 2016)
"It doesn’t have to be dull. To the extent that the writer can do so, I think he has an obligation to make what he writes interesting, if possible. And that can be done even with some relatively dry subjects. It especially can be done in our legal system."
Vissa kommer minnas Antonin Scalia för hans originalism, andra för hans hållning i exempelvis HBTQ-frågor. För egen del har jag främst intresserat mig för hans språk. Han var, liksom flera av hans kollegor i SCOTUS, en enastående stilist som visade att stringenta texter inte måste vara sövande tråkiga. Ett av många exempel, hämtat ur Scalias skiljaktiga mening i det uppmärksammade målet om samkönade äktenskap från 2015:
“The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy, and spirituality.” (Really? Who ever thought that intimacy and spirituality [whatever that means] were freedoms? And if intimacy is, one would think Freedom of Intimacy is abridged rather than expanded by marriage. Ask the nearest hippie."
I boken Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges visade han också att "legal writing" (för Scalia fanns inte begreppet - texter var antingen bra eller dåliga, och i hans bok hörde många juristers texter till den senare kategorin) syftar till mer än att göra domskäl begripliga för målets parter.
Ytterligare andra kommer minnas Scalia som domaren som höll i pennan när USA:s högsta domstol slog fast att Kaliforniens förbud mot försäljning och uthyrning av våldsamma datorspel till minderåriga var oförenligt med konstitutionen:
"Reading Dante is unquestionably more cultured and intellectually edifying than playing Mortal Kombat. But these cultural and intellectual differences are not constitutional ones."
Antonin Scalia jämförde datorspel med böcker, filmer och andra verk som "kommunicerar idéer" och konstaterade att USA inte skyddat barn mot våldsskildringar i litteratur:
"Hansel and Gretel kill their captor by baking her in an oven, Cinderella's evil stepsisters have their eyes pecked out by doves and the evil queen in Snow White is forced to wear red hot slippers and dance until she is dead."
Han konstaterade också att det saknades belägg för att våldsamma spel är skadliga för barn. Och han ansåg inte att motbjudande innehåll motiverade inskränkningar i yttrandefriheten:
"Justice Alito has done considerable independent research to identify ... video games in which “the violence is astounding". ... “Victims are dismembered, decapitated, disemboweled, set on fire, and chopped into little pieces. ... Blood gushes, splatters, and pools.” Justice Alito recounts all these disgusting video games in order to disgust us - but disgust is not a valid basis for restricting expression."
Branschorganisationen The Entertaintment Software Association har nu kommenterat Scalias bortgång:
"The Entertainment Software Association joins those who salute the service and mourn the loss of Justice Scalia. In 2011, when our industry defended the rights of creators and consumers of video games before the U.S. Supreme Court, it was Justice Scalia who authored the historic majority opinion. He declared, with no ambiguity, that video games, like books, movies and other forms of expression, are deserving of First Amendment protections. It was a momentous day for our industry and those who love the entertainment we create and we are indebted to Justice Scalia for so eloquently defending the rights of creators and consumer everywhere."
Text: Fredrik Svärd
Bild: Stephen Masker