Law professors aren’t ordinary lawyers; as educators, they have a special duty to demonstrate to their students the values of collegiality, professionalism, and respect for differing viewpoints. As one Georgetown Law source put it, “This is not what admitted students want to see when deciding between Georgetown and other T14 schools. An intolerant professor lecturing on the intolerance of a Justice.”

So what was the point of Professor Peller’s message? It seems he wanted to make clear that he is not part of the “Georgetown Community” mourning Justice Scalia: “That ‘community’ would never have claimed that our entire community mourns the loss of J. Scalia, nor contributed to his mystification without regard for the harm and hurt he inflicted. That community teaches critique, not deference, and empowerment, not obsequiousness.”

I think Professor Peller is being a bit of a drama queen. Nobody would have read the (rather innocuous) press release and wondered, “Did Gary Peller sign on to this?” It’s pretty pro forma for law schools and universities to issue statements when justices pass away — especially when the justice in question had ties to the university. (Justice Scalia received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown before going on to Harvard for law school.)