US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passes away at 79
US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79, setting up a major political battle over his succession in the run-up to the US election.
According to a source close to Scalia’s family, the senior associate judge died in his sleep Saturday after a day of hunting at a ranch outside the western city of Marfa, in the US state of Texas.
"On behalf of the court and retired justices, I am saddened to report that our colleague Justice Antonin Scalia has passed away," Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement on Saturday, calling Scalia an "extraordinary individualist and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues.”
US President Barack Obama also extended condolences to the family of the Supreme Court justice on Saturday.
"The president and first lady extend their deepest condolences to Justice Scalia's family," said White House spokesman Eric Schultz.
Scalia's death is expected to set off a monumental political fight over who should replace him during an already heated presidential election campaign.
There is likely to be significant pressure on the Senate, which is in Republican hands, to hold off on confirming anyone nominated by Obama, a Democrat who is in his last year in office.
Replacing Scalia with a Democrat-appointed justice could change the balance of the court under Chief Justice John Roberts, and would mean the election of the president could immediately determine the direction of the Supreme Court.
US Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, pressing for Obama to send a nominee to the Senate "right away", said it would be "shameful" for the chamber to fail to confirm a replacement before the next US president is sworn in, in January 2017.
Appointed to the top US court in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan, Scalia was known for his strident conservative views and was the longest serving justice to date.
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