Subject: Justice Scalia
From: "Dean William M. Treanor" <[email-masked]>
To: All Students <[email-masked]>, All Faculty and Staff <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2016 20:59:39 +0000

To the Members of the Georgetown Law Community,

I was personally saddened by Justice Scalia's death Saturday.  He was one of the most important legal figures of our time, and he cared deeply about the law and the Court.  As a legal scholar, even though I often disagreed with them, I consistently learned a great deal from his intellectually powerful opinions and scholarship.  As a member of this community, I was grateful to him for his remarkable generosity to us.  Over the years, he was a frequent guest in our classrooms and in our lecture halls.  I will never forget how, after he spoke to our first year class in November, while we had expected him to leave immediately, he stayed in the Health and Fitness lobby long after the talk was over to speak with students and engage with them on any topic they wanted to discuss.  His presence here on so many occasions reflected a striking commitment to the next generation of lawyers.  I know how many members of this community are experiencing a very personal sadness at this time because they knew him, appeared before him as advocates, worked with him. My heart goes out to his family and countless friends at this time of loss.

I issued a statement on Saturday saying that the law school community mourned the Justice's death.  As you may know, some faculty have disagreed with my statement.  I am writing now to reaffirm my belief that this a time for us to mourn.  Justice Scalia was an individual who provoked strong and divergent views; the debate about his legacy is long-standing, and it will continue for many years.  But this moment is a moment of grief.  It is a time of loss and a time when many in our community are in pain.  It is a time for mourning.

I would like to express again my sadness at the Justice’s passing and to extend my condolences to his family and friends.

Sincerely,
Bill Treanor