Scalia and Torture: Fact or Fiction

According to Colin Freeze of the Globe and Mail, a panel discussion among Very Important People in the legal world went crazily awry, when someone brought up Jack Bauer, the fictional protagonist of the TV show "24".

Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court, seemed almost to be in favor of Jack Bauer and his loose interpretation of the laws against torture. "Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer?" asked the justice. "I don't think so. So the question is really whether we believe in these absolutes. And ought we believe in these absolutes."

Bloggers are unsure whether to be more frightened of Scalia's position, or of the justification he gave for it. "Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles," Scalia said.

From Portable Fiasco: "This is just like a bunch of school kids arguing about who would win in a fight between the Dukes of Hazzard and the A-Team. Except they're not school kids. They're really important grown-ups. Arguing about the A-Team."

And the Carpetbagger Report: "It's likely that Scalia was using a cultural reference to prove a broader point about torture and the rule of law, but I'm not entirely sure what that point is. It seems to have something to do with Scalia's apparent belief that those U.S. officials who commit torture deserve legal amnesty, just so long as the ends justify the means."

Andrew Sullivan in the Atlantic Online says: "Earth to Justice Scalia: Jack Bauer does not exist."

The panel discussion took place in Ottawa, and concentrated on torture and terrorism.

The Globe and Mail points out that in actual judicial opinions, Scalia hasn't been so careless of individual rights as his arguments in this discussion would seem to indicate. But at this discussion, he did say, "I don't care about holding people," arguing that even if a terrorist had to be let go later, a plot might have been foiled by illegally holding him.

Other senior judges from Europe and Canada were quick to condemn any tolerance of torture. Judge Mosely, of Canada, and Lord Carlile of Berriew, of the UK, both spoke in favor of prosecuting government agents who engage in torture. And questions from the floor spoke to the difficulty of determining whether the person you're holding is really the person who knows anything, given that confessions obtained by torture are notoriously unreliable.

"How many people are we going to torture to save L.A.?" asked Stanley Cohen, a senior counsel for the Canadian Justice Department.

It's a good question.