Feb 13, 2016 Various news agencies are reporting that Antonin Scalia was found dead this morning at a Texas ranch. If true this is very big news as Scalia is the court's most conservative member. An Obama appointment would likely move the court significantly to the left. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/us-...nd-6828930.php
Feb 13, 2016 This exactly.... I hope the best for his family and friends in their grief but one less conservative in the Supreme Court is great news moving foward.
Feb 13, 2016 Obama probably smirking a little right now. This will be the 3rd Supreme Court Justice he'll get to nominate.
Feb 13, 2016 yup. Something else to add to his legacy. The GOP in the senate is going to fight hard to block anybody Obama nominates. Some people are saying it could very well carry over until he's out of office. I saw this on Twitter right now and thought it was interesting...
Feb 13, 2016 They might as well just let Obama (a moderate, like it or not) appoint his middle of the road Judge... Bernie's would be way left of Obama's pick... Hillary would be a judge of the same temperament and Trump would just appoint his sister.
Feb 13, 2016 I was reading some where that Obama may nominate someone in his cabinet who are already approved by the senate? Not sure exactly how that would work out or whether that person would need to be approved again by the senate.
Feb 15, 2016 To understand who wins and loses on the Supreme Court, political scientists look to the “median justice.” Simply put, the median justice is the justice most likely to supply the crucial fifth vote — the justice with four justices to his or her right and four to his or her left. In the closest cases, the median justice is the one who determines the winner or loser. What makes Scalia’s death so significant is that until another justice is appointed, we won’t have a unique median justice. Until Saturday, Anthony Kennedy was the median justice. He has been the median since Sandra Day O’Connor left the court during the 2005 term, just over 10 years ago. Early in Scalia’s term, Lewis Powell was the median, then Byron White, then David Souter. The position went back and forth between Kennedy and O’Connor beginning in the early 1990s until O’Connor left the court and Kennedy cemented the role. Today both Stephen Breyer and Kennedy are the median justices. Until a new justice is confirmed, it is very likely that many cases during the current term will end in 4-4 ties; when that happens, the decision of the lower court is affirmed without creating a precedent. The next justice to join the court will define who the next median justice is, which is what makes the appointment so consequential. If President Obama can get the Senate to confirm a liberal nominee, Breyer is likely to become the median. If the Republicans in the Senate can effectively delay confirmation, and if a Republican wins the presidential election and appoints a more conservative justice, then Kennedy will become the median justice once again. http://fivethirtyeight.com/features...st-conservative-justice-on-the-supreme-court/
Feb 15, 2016 You people are f---ing sick.. happy someone is dead so your s--- President can further ruin this country.
Feb 15, 2016 Found an article on Brookings that takes a cool (in my opinion) approach to explaining political strategy surrounding SC nominations: http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/fixg...lia-supreme-court-nominee-game-theory-lempert
Feb 15, 2016 This is why I hate politics. People just skim over the fact that someone died, and are happy because it'll benefit whatever side they're on. It's like people will legitimately start hating someone because they are liberal/conservative.
Feb 16, 2016 Scalia was a hateful prick. I mean, I'm not saying I'm happy that he's dead but I'm not sad either. I'm really just indifferent. Go read Scalia's special dissent for the Lawrence v. Texas ruling. It is one of the most obscene pieces of hate-writing that I've ever seen come out of SCOTUS.
Feb 16, 2016 I have no idea about any of his rulings, I'll have to read up on that. Tbh I was just fed about with my Facebook feed being filled with the kids who swear they know it all with politics arguing, and then I logged on to see this on the newest posts
Feb 16, 2016 Supreme Court going to be so much better off now, can't wait to see who replaces him. oh, and i guess rip
