CARY - U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin G. Scalia emphasized strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution during a speech Friday night and explained how that interpretation applies to such issues as the death penalty, abortion and free speech.

Scalia's remarks came during an awards ceremony at the Embassy Suites held by the Jesse Helms Center. He received the Nance Medal of Freedom -- an annual award presented to a government official for public service. Helms, 86, who is in failing health, did not attend, but his wife, Dorothy, was there.

Scalia, nominated by President Reagan in 1986, has been one of the high court's most visible and controversial figures for his staunch conservatism.

Throughout his speech, Scalia criticized those who believe the Constitution should be adapted to mirror today's society. He maintained that the nation's founding document should be interpreted in its original context.

"The Constitution is not a living organism, it's a legal document," Scalia told about 200 people. "Proponents of a living Constitution are trying to bring you inflexibility."

Scalia's view has helped him win supporters in the same conservative circles popular with Helms, the former senator from North Carolina. The list of attendees included federal and state judges and politicians, many of whom said Scalia's legal philosophy jibed with Helms' political ideology.

"[Scalia] has been a protector and defender of the unborn and of life, and I think he is known for that," said Tami Fitzgerald, staff attorney for the North Carolina Family Policy Council. "Similar to Senator Helms, he embodies the ideals that traditional Americans and Americans of faith believe."

The Constitution, Scalia said, "neither forbids nor prohibits abortion." He has publicly disagreed with the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that allowed abortion rights for women.

Scalia's strict interpretation of the Constitution was praised by his supporters. They say it's a characteristic Helms embodied.

"Some people talk about the Constitution like it's some warm fuzzy," said state Rep. Paul Stam, a Republican from Wake County. "Scalia actually reads the words and figures out what it says. He doesn't make things up."

Despite the praise, at least one of Scalia's votes on the bench came under scrutiny by another jurist.

"Perhaps he will explain why the bearded hippies have the right to burn the flag," said U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard said, teasing Scalia during an introduction.

Scalia defended his vote in the flag-burning case, saying it fit within strict interpretation of the Constitution.

"I don't like people who burn the flag," Scalia said. "People are entitled to express their contempt for the government ... and even the flag."

Scalia didn't shy away from the death penalty controversy, either.

The Supreme Court recently announced it would hear the case of two condemned inmates in Kentucky who maintain that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment, banned by the Eighth Amendment.

Scalia framed the issue in the context of how the the writers of the Constitution wrote the Eighth Amendment the way they did -- "because they feared a future generation wouldn't be as virtuous as they were."

Before Scalia's speech, political activist Dallas Woodhouse, state director of Americans for Prosperity, bounced from group to group with a book written by Scalia that he kept tucked under his arm.

Woodhouse appeared to be one of Scalia's more visible supporters, showing the book when he moved to address a new face.

He said he wanted Scalia to autograph the book, but a handshake would have to suffice.

He visited Scalia's table and forgot to take the book.

"I shook his hand," Woodhouse said. "I'll never wash it again. He's very gracious and very nice."