Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Dead

Scalia Dead at 79

by Josh Guckert

Antonin Scalia, age 79, was found dead Saturday at Cibolo Creek Ranch, a resort in the Big Bend region south of Marfa, Texas.

He was appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan in 1986 and was the longest-tenured justice on the Court. Long considered to be one of the most conservative justices in history, he often placed his own “originalist” and “textualist” bent on his rulings. Anthony Kennedy remains as the only other Reagan appointee still on the bench.

Much had been made of the older makeup of the Supreme Court heading into the 2016 election, as he had been one of four justices on the Court age 77 or older.

Justice Scalia’s opinions are believed by many legal scholars to be some of the most well-written of any judge. Using flowery language and stirring analogies, his presence will be missed not only in Washington inside the Supreme Court building, but also by millions of lawyers and law students around the country.

Despite being fiercely passionate on the issues, Scalia was known for having a wonderful relationship with the rest of the Court, most notably the very liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Scalia is survived by his wife Maureen and his nine children.