Toward the end of the opera Scalia/Ginsburg, tenor Scalia and soprano Ginsburg sing a duet: "We are different, we are one," different in our interpretation of written texts, one in our reverence for the Constitution and the institution we serve.
From our years together at the D.C. Circuit, we were best buddies. We disagreed now and then, but when I wrote for the Court and received a Scalia dissent, the opinion ultimately released was notably better than my initial circulation.
Justice Scalia nailed all the weak spots — the "applesauce" and "argle bargle"—and gave me just what I needed to strengthen the majority opinion. He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh.
The press referred to his "energetic fervor," "astringent intellect," "peppery prose," "acumen," and "affability," all apt descriptions. He was eminently quotable, his pungent opinions so clearly stated that his words never slipped from the reader's grasp.
Justice Scalia once described as the peak of his days on the bench an evening at the Opera Ball when he joined two Washington National Opera tenors at the piano for a medley of songs. He called it the famous Three Tenors performance.
He was, indeed, a magnificent performer. It was my great good fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend.
Unlikely friendships crossing ideological boundaries are not particularly rare on the court. What's instructive is that even in these ideologically charged times, two Political Opposites like Ginsberg and Scalia could become 'Best Buddies'.
Ginsberg and Scalia are two brilliant people who vehemently disagree on many points of Constitutional law. However they both accepted the fact that one was liberal and the other was conservative did not make either one stupid or unpatriotic. But it went beyond that. They looked at each other and found out that they were people who genuinely enjoyed each other's company.
When you're on the court you're on the court. You don't have to read public opinion polls and worry about your standing. And I think that makes it easier for Justices to see each other as perhaps the opposition but not the enemy. All Justices go through an excruciatingly political nomination process, yet when thrown together on the court there is a lot of respect in a place where courtesy and civility have not gone out of style.