Scalia’s Papers Donated to Law School

The family of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin G. Scalia will donate his legal and academic papers to the Harvard Law School Library, the Law School announced Monday.

The papers derive primarily from Scalia’s time on the Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, but also from his earlier work in the U.S. Department of Justice and in other roles.

Antonin G. Scalia speaks on November 18, 1992 in this Crimson file photo. Scalia, who passed away over the weekend, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1960. By Crimson file photo

Papers from his years on the Supreme Court and D.C. Appeals court will be made available for study starting in 2020. But documents related to specific cases will be withheld for the duration of the other ruling judges’ and justices’ lifetimes, according to the Law School's announcement. The documents will be added to the Law School Library’s Modern Manuscripts collection, which features the papers of a number of other prominent legal scholars and Supreme Court Justices.

“We are extraordinarily grateful to the family of Justice Scalia for donating these papers to the Harvard Law School Library,” Law School Dean Martha L. Minow said in the press release. “His papers will be a tremendous resource for students, scholars, and the general public for generations to come.”

Scalia, who graduated magna cum laude from the Law School in 1960, served as an editor of the Law Review during his time as a student. He was known for his strict interpretation of the Constitution and tendency toward more conservative rulings. Scalia died in February 2016, and his seat on the court has remained vacant since. In February, President Donald Trump nominated another Law School graduate, Neil M. Gorsuch, to the Court. He is currently awaiting his Senate hearings, and, if confirmed, is expected to take a similar constitutional approach as Scalia.