Is There Anybody Out There?

HATTIESBURG, Miss - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia delivered a speech to an empty auditorium on Thursday. A standing room only crowd was expected for the justice's remarks in the 4,300 seat Grandholm Pavilion. However, minutes before his speech was to begin Federal Marshals cleared the auditorium after Scalia unexpectedly requested that his remarks not be recorded. The Marshals were forced to act when it dawned on them that everyone in attendance had brought their brains, one of the most advanced recording devices ever created.

The Marshals briefly considered removing Scalia from the auditorium as well. Scalia was allowed to remain once the Marshals determined that the justice had not entered the pavilion with a functioning recording device.


Responding to a related incident, Nehemiah Flowers, the U.S. marshal for the Southern District of Mississippi had this to say:

"The justice informed us he did not want any recordings of his speech and remarks and when we discovered that one, or possibly two, reporters were in fact recording, [Deputy Marshal Melanie Rube] took action," Flowers told The Associated Press.