AP Photog Angers Scalia

By: (AP) Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was all smiles at a gathering of Italian-Americans -- until the cameras came out.

Scalia, who has a prickly relationship with the media, regularly attends events of the National Italian American Foundation. When he arrived for a panel discussion at a Washington hotel, he was greeted by calls of "Nino," his nickname. Hugs followed.

Scalia turned churlish, however, when a photographer began taking pictures during the session.

"That's enough," Scalia snapped at a photographer for The Associated Press, Manuel Balce Ceneta, who was shooting pictures of another panelist, former FBI Director Louis Freeh.

Ceneta continued taking pictures of the event this past weekend, but from the back of the room using a telephoto lens. Scalia had pointed out the photographer to the panel moderator and vigorously gestured for him to stop.

Another photographer ventured to the front to take pictures, but scurried away in the face of angry looks from Scalia -- dropping some of his camera equipment, which he left behind.

Cameras and tape recorders are barred from the Supreme Court, and Scalia often insists on restrictions for reporters covering his speeches. Last year, for example, he received an award for supporting free speech in Ohio but banned broadcast media from attending.

During an April speech in Hattiesburg, Miss., a deputy federal marshal demanded that an AP reporter and another journalist erase recordings of the justice's remarks.

The exchange occurred in the front row of a school auditorium while Scalia spoke on the Constitution. The justice later apologized and said he would make clear at future events that print reporters could record his remarks.

The government conceded last month that the U.S. Marshals Service violated federal law in the confrontation, and said the reporters and their employers were each entitled to $1,000 in damages and attorneys' fees.

During his appearance at the foundation, Scalia asked for patience for judges who make unpopular decisions.

"If you are dealing with a stupid statute, you are honor-bound to produce a stupid result," said Scalia, the first Italian-American Supreme Court justice. "You hold your nose and say, 'This is what it says.'"