Scalia's Death Has Great Impact

Antonin Scalia, who has served for 30 years as a Supreme Court Justice, has passed away recently. Her death has left an uproar of political mayhem. A respectable, honorable, and wise judge, Antonin Scalia was truly an incredible judge. According to AJC.com “Scalia, 79, was one of the most conservative justices the court has seen, and favored “originalism” or the theory that decisions on Supreme Court cases should be made by trying to understand the reasoning behind those who drafted and ratified the Constitution.”

Much tension has arisen due to his passing. Currently, Scalia was conservative, as mentioned above, and if President Barack Obama chooses a replacement, the Supreme Court Justices overall political views would be shifted toward being more liberal. In addition, if he waits for the next candidate to choose, a) There are some Justices that are as old if not older than Scalia which would let the next President, who may be Republican, choose more conservative Justices, and b) be unconstitutional because President Obama still has 10 months left in his term.

However, conservatives might not have to worry about anything to begin with, because according to Time.com, President Obama might end up picking a conservative nominee to fill the gap anyway. “A sterling record. A deep respect for the judiciary’s role. An understanding of the way the world really works. That’s what I’m considering as I fulfill my constitutional duty to appoint a judge to our highest court,” Obama wrote Wednesday. From Time.com, “The White House would neither confirm nor deny the report, with spokesman Josh Earnest saying only in general terms that President Obama had spoken to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who is pushing the idea of nominating his home-state Governor, Brian Sandoval.”

More to the point, Scalia has definitely proved to be a very knowledgeable, wise, and respectable judge. According to New York Times, “He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said in a statement confirming Justice Scalia’s death. “His passing is a great loss to the Court and the country he so loyally served.”

-Owen Nagel