The U.S. Marshals Service in Washington confirmed Scalia's death at a private residence in the Big Bend area of South Texas. The service's spokeswoman, Donna Sellers, says Scalia had retired for the evening and was found dead Saturday morning when he did not appear for breakfast.
Scalia used his keen intellect and missionary zeal in an unyielding attempt to move the court farther to the right and to get it to embrace his "originalist" view of judging after his 1986 appointment by President Ronald Reagan.
His 2008 opinion for the court in favor of gun rights was his crowning moment in more than 30 years on the bench. He was a strong advocate for privacy in favoring restrictions on police searches and protections for defendants' rights. But he also voted consistently to let states outlaw abortions, to allow a closer relationship between government and religion, to permit executions and to limit lawsuits.
Scalia's impact on the court was muted by his seeming disregard for moderating his views to help build consensus.
REACTION; U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement Saturday evening on Scalia's passing, saying, "Today our country lost an unwavering champion of a timeless document that unites each of us as Americans. Justice Scalia's fidelity to the Constitution was rivaled only by the love of his family: his wife Maureen his nine children, and his many grandchildren. Through the sheer force of his intellect and his legendary wit, this giant of American jurisprudence almost singlehandedly revived an approach to constitutional interpretation that prioritized the text and original meaning of the Constitution. Elaine and I send our deepest condolences to the entire Scalia family.
McConnell added, "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President."
In a direct rebuttal to Senate Republicans, President Barack Obama says he plans to fulfill his constitutional responsibility and nominate a successor. Obama says there is plenty of time for the Senate to confirm his choice. Obama pointedly calls the decision "bigger than any one party." He says it is about democracy.
Obama praised the late justice as a brilliant legal mind who influenced generation of lawyers and students.
Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio also say Obama should hold off on a nomination. Democrats immediately raised objections. The Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid, says it would be "unprecedented in recent history" for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacancy and urged Obama to send the Senate a nominee right away.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton praised Scalia, even as she noted that she did not share his views. Clinton says Republicans calling for the seat to remain vacant until the next president enters office "dishonor our Constitution."
