...but I gotta say, Scalia is wrong.

A judge must, at all times, actively avoid even the appearance of favoritism. Recusing one's self from a case in which one's ruling will involve a friend, with whom one has had close, private, personal contact while the case is pending, is simply the correct thing to do.

Mr. Scalia talks about his recusal undermining the function of the Court. Ha! Questions about the impartiality of the justices undermine the public's confidence in the Court.

The reason those appointments are for life is to make the justices immune to political threats to their jobs. Mr. Scalia has apparently found the flip side to that: it makes him immune from caring what his personal relationships do to the Court's ability to retain the public's respect.