Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead at a West Texas ranch on Saturday. He was 79 years old. Scalia died in his sleep during a hunting trip, apparently of natural causes.
The sudden death of Scalia, one of the Court’s most outspoken conservatives, potentially shifts the balance of the Supreme Court, currently 5–4 in favor of conservatives, setting up an enormous battle in the Republican-controlled Senate that will play out simultaneously with the presidential campaign.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) released a statement calling Scalia “a man of God, a patriot, and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law.”
.@GovAbbott statement on death of Antonin Scalia pic.twitter.com/Y8NeuMWubm
— Evan Smith (@evanasmith) February 13, 2016
Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and was its longest-serving member.