Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says members of Congress need to get themselves a copy of the Federalist Papers — and make sure they read it.

According to attendees, Scalia adopted a professorial, occasionally playful tone on Monday while addressing members of Congress and staff behind closed doors at an event organized by GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party Caucus.

Scalia drew criticism ahead of the event for attending what was perceived as a partisan gathering. However, members of both parties say the event had more in common with a law school seminar than a pep rally.

Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, who attended, says Scalia implored lawmakers to study their role. She says he also said he does not view the Constitution as a living document.

The moment lasted about 20 seconds. But its political reverberations have endured for a year and exemplify today's knotty confluence of law, politics and public perception.

At last year's State of the Union speech Jan. 27, with six Supreme Court justices in attendance, President Obama denounced a recent campaign-finance ruling, saying it reversed a century of precedent and warning that it would "open the floodgates" for corporate spending on elections. Justice Samuel Alito shook his head and mouthed "not true."

That tense moment has been viewed on youtube.com more than 650,000 times in the past year. It was singularly controversial but not the only headline-grabbing interaction between members of the political branches and the Supreme Court in the past twelve months.

A series of events, most recently Justice Antonin Scalia's acceptance of an invitation to speak to Tea Party members, has made clear that against the backdrop of an increasingly polarized Washington and the 24-hour media frenzy, interactions between justices and the two elected branches have become more politicized.

The Supreme Court has reinstated a $625,000 judgment against Ohio prison officials who did nothing to prevent a guard's sexual assault of an inmate and then punished the victim.

The justices unanimously agreed Monday that a federal appeals court was wrong to throw out the award to Michelle Ortiz. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had "no warrant" to override the jury's verdict.

Ortiz was serving 12 months at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in November 2002 when she reported that a male guard fondled her breasts and warned, "I'll get you tomorrow, watch." He did, returning when Ortiz was asleep to molest her again.

The Supreme Court says a credit card company legally increased the interest rate on a man's card without telling him.

The high court on Monday ruled for Chase Bank USA and against James A. McCoy.

McCoy complained that Chase increased his interest rate due to his delinquency or default, and applied that increase retroactively. He says credit card regulations make that illegal because Chase did not notify him until after the increase went into effect.

The lower court had thrown out his lawsuit. Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed, saying the Federal Reserve Board's interpretation of the regulations said Chase did not have to inform him of the rate increase.

Congress changed the law in 2009 to require credit card companies to give a 45-day notice before raising interest rates.

A Texas appeals court threw out former coach Mike Leach's breach of contract claim against Texas Tech on Friday, though it said he could still pursue non-monetary claims against the school over his controversial 2009 firing.

Leach did not immediately respond to a text message and couldn't be reached by phone.

"We won," Texas Tech attorney Dicky Grigg said. "The court has held that he has no monetary claims against the school."

University attorneys had argued that Leach could not sue the school because Texas Tech is a state entity with sovereign immunity, meaning it can only be sued with permission from the state Legislature or a waiver based on a defendant's conduct.

A trial court ruling went against the school, but the latest decision from the 7th Court of Appeals upheld Texas Tech's assertion of immunity.

Leach's attorney, Paul Dobrowski, said he plans to appeal the issue to the Texas Supreme Court. He said the ruling noted that the state's highest court "is unclear regarding waiver of sovereign immunity" through conduct.

President Barack Obama is marking the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision on abortion by calling the procedure a constitutional right he's committed to protecting.

Obama also said in a statement Saturday that he remains committed to policies designed to prevent unintended pregnancies. And he called on Americans to recommit themselves to ensuring that, in the president's words, "our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams."

Obama said the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion affirmed what he called a "fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters."

Anti-abortion activists will participate in an annual "March for Life" in Washington on Monday.