Justice Marion Opala

As I mentioned before, I had the pleasure tonight of listening to Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Marion Opala. He spoke tonight, interestingly enough, on his views of judicial activism and constitutional interpretation. You might recall that Chris and I had dueling posts regarding this same subject, and it was interesting to get another view, from someone who actively decides Oklahoma law, and has been for many years.

The words used by an attorney I work with -- "a fucking genius" -- weren't off base at all. The man, at 85, is still as sharp as tack, with a passion for the law that I do not get to see very often from battle weary attorneys. He started with the common law of England from the 1100s, all the way to the current U.S. invented constitutional law. He traced it the way any constitutional law professor would do it, but he threw in a few anecdotes that changed the pace and kept my attention. He focused primarily on the judicial activism of the 1950s and the Warren Court. That particular court overturned precedents of, amongst other things, separate but equal. Why? Well, according to Justice Opala, he believes it was because no one else was doing anything so Warren stepped up and changed things, for the better. While he agrees that many of the changes were for the better, and it stopped the U.S. from becoming a colonial power based upon its laws, he believes the methods used by the Warren Court set a dangerous precedent on its own, allowing it to become shapers of the laws, instead of the interpreters. As as been discussed before, Chris and I agree, albeit differently, with Justice Opala.

Another interesting note, he only stands about 5 feet tall, if that. Such a short stature for a former Chief Justice of Oklahoma. I just found it...neat.

All in all, it was a fun experience, and for a guy who has done it all in his 50+ years in law, a very down to earth guy who stayed and talked with anyone and everyone who came up to him.