Supreme Court's new tilt could put Scalia on a roll (David G. Savage)

  By David G. Savage -- Los Angeles Times

  WASHINGTON -- It has been two decades in the making, but this is the year Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court's most outspoken dissenter, could emerge as a leader of a new conservative majority.

  Between now and late June, the court is set to hand down decisions in four areas of law -- race, religion, abortion regulation and campaign finance -- where Scalia's views may now represent the majority.

  In each of those areas, the retirement of centrist Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and her replacement with Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. figure to tip the court to the right.

  That would give the 70-year-old Scalia the chance to play a part that has largely eluded him: speaking for the court in major rulings.

  Scalia does not see shades of gray in most legal disputes; instead, he favors clear rules and broad decisions. A series of broad-brush rulings could put Scalia's stamp on some key American social issues.

  A Scalia-led majority would move to outlaw the use of racial guidelines to achieve integration, allow a greater role for religion in public life, more tightly regulate abortion, and strike down campaign-funding laws seen as constricting free speech.

  It is a prospect dreaded by liberals, and eagerly awaited by many on the right.

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