Three ways Antonin Scalia’s stunning death affects America

Three ways Antonin Scalia’s stunning death affects America February 13, 2016

It’s a sad moment, in deed, for family members of Antonin Scalia, who died today at age 79 years.  We extend our condolences to the people who loved him. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, “Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patriot, and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution. His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans. We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”

It’s also important for our nation in the following three ways:

1.  This leaves a conservative vacancy in the Supreme Court.  Jim Geraghty writes:

The court can operate with eight justices, but any decisions that result in a 4-4 split among the justices leave the lower court decision unchanged: Although rare, 4-4 ties are hardly unheard-of—justices do recuse themselves from time to time. A split decision effectively upholds the ruling of the lower court (presumably a state supreme court). In the event of such a tie, the court typically issues what’s known as a per curiam decision. The opinion in such a decision is issued under the court’s name, as opposed to consisting of a majority and a minority opinion. Justices, however, may attach dissenting opinions to the per curiam decision if they like—as happened in Bush v. Gore. When a 4-4 deadlock does occur, the case is not deemed to have set any sort of precedent. Tradition holds that the court’s per curiam opinion in such ties is usually very, very terse, often consisting of no more than a single sentence: “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court.”

2.  This throws our nation into political turmoil.

Obviously, conservatives are deeply troubled that this vacancy occurred before Barack Obama left the Presidency.  The Washington Post reports:

Immediate partisan battle began over whether President Obama should be allowed to nominate his successor.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement that the Senate controlled by his party should not confirm a replacement for Scalia until after the election.

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,” McConnell said.

But the battle lines were immediately apparent. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) followed McConnell’s statement with one of his own:

“It would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat,” he said. “Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate’s most essential Constitutional responsibilities.”

3.  It raises the stakes of the Presidential election.  With all of the chaos and drama of the current political season, this death reminds America that two branches of government are at stake in America.  It is a good reminder of the critical role the next President will have in shaping the legal legacy of this country.  The Washington Post reports:

The stunning death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — announced just hours before the six remaining Republican presidential candidates gathered Saturday in South Carolina for a debate — immediately ups the ante in the GOP primary …

RELATED: THE TIME CATHOLIC SCALIA WAS ASKED “ISN’T IS SCARY TO BELIEVE IN THE DEVIL?”

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