Leaning forward with his bushy eyebrows and dark brown eyes, late Justice Antonin Scalia could make even the most fearless at least a little skittish.

Former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna described it as feeling as if he were about to catch on fire.

“Really, the first time I thought I was going to burst into flames,” McKenna told Seattle’s Morning News

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McKenna argued in front of the Scalia and the U.S. Supreme Court three times. Of those three, McKenna said Scalia appeared to be on his side once. During the two other instances, Scalia seemed determined to destroy McKenna’s case, he said.

“That’s the way he worked,” McKenna explained. “He didn’t come into oral argument with an open mind. He’d already made up his mind and decided how he was going to vote.

“If he was on your side that was great, if he wasn’t, that was quite a ride.”

Mckenna described arguing in front of the Supreme Court like trying to return tennis balls from eight different machines at once &#8212 with the ninth machine, notoriously quiet Clarence Thomas, “unplugged.” Of those, Scalia was the fastest.

Scalia died Saturday at the age of 79. It’s the second time in more than 60 years an active justice has died.

Scalia’s death quickly became a highlight of the presidential race. The court is now divided between four liberal and four &#8211 typically &#8211 conservative justices. Whoever replaces Scalia could tilt the court ideologically, though it might be difficult to find anyone as controversial.

Though the conservative justice made headlines for some eyebrow-raising statements, McKenna said he hopes Scalia is remembered for being a champion of the Constitution. Scalia felt strongly that the Constitution should not be rewritten by un-elected judges, McKenna explained.