A New Orleans expert on Constitutional law says the death over the weekend of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia leaves an enormous void in the nation’s justice system. That void may be around for a while.
This is how Tulane law professor Keith Werhan describes the legacy of Antonin Scalia:
“I think of him really as the Ronald Reagan of the judiciary, just like President Reagan really had a transformative impact that we’re still feeling in our politics and in our governance," he said.
Scalia was appointed to the high court by Reagan, and was unanimously approved. His successor? Not likely.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Obama will not even get a vote for someone he wants to nominate. The president says he’ll propose someone anyway.
Werhan says he sees no way around an impasse.
“It is, I think, disrespectful of the process," he said. "I mean, the president serves a term, still has essentially a year to go in his term. And to hobble the court over this, you know, just really seems inappropriate.”
He says a major stumbling block right away will probably be finding judicial nominees willing to face a hostile Republican Senate.
