Justice Antonin Scalia passed away Saturday, leaving a sharply divided Supreme Court with a vacancy just nine months before the next presidential election, and eleven months remaining in President Obama’s term. Concerns over the next appointment to the bench raise many critical questions, and here are the top five issues you need to know.
1. What is the appointment process?
The U.S. Constitution (Article II, Section 2.2) vests the power in the president to nominate Supreme Court justices. Sec. 2.2 states in relevant part, “He shall have Power…by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States…”
Per protocol, the president will begin the vetting process... [Read more at the Strident Conservative]
