[JURIST] US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia [Oyez profile] denounced the increasingly large role politics and moral issues have played in recent judicial appointments and decisions in a speech [news release] Monday at Chapman University [official website]. Scalia blasted "judge moralists" and said he was disappointed that the US Supreme Court was increasingly deciding moral issues not found in the Constitution, such as abortion and gay rights. Scalia said such decisions should remain in popularly elected legislatures. He also said the change in focus had led lawmakers to search for potential judges based on criteria other than their professional and legal credentials. He alluded to the upcoming confirmation hearings for US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts [JURIST news archive]. Earlier Monday, Scalia took part in a re-enactment of the notorious Supreme Court decision Lochner v. New York [opinion text] with students and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. AP has more.