memeorandum: McConnell throws down the gauntlet: No Scalia replacement under Obama (Glenn Thrush/Politico)

4:55 AM ET, February 14, 2016

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Senior U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia found dead at West Texas ranch — Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead of apparent natural causes Saturday on a luxury resort in West Texas, federal officials said. — Scalia, 79, was a guest at the Cibolo Creek Ranch …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mother Jones, NPR, The Hill, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Media Matters for America, USA Today, The Huffington Post, Vox, Business Insider, CNN, TIME, Mashable, The Hinterland Gazette, Slantpoint, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Power Line, The Atlantic, ABC News, Yahoo Politics, The Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit, AOL, The Daily Caller, Courthouse News Service, New York Post, Instapundit, Washington Monthly, Liberal Values, The Right Scoop, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balkinization, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent, Politicus USA, Hot Air, Washington Blade, Raw Story, The Last Refuge, Friendly Atheist, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CANNONFIRE, Little Green Footballs, New York's PIX11, Mediaite, Shot in the Dark, SCOTUSblog, addictinginfo.org, Althouse, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:

What happens to this Term's close cases? (Updated) — The passing of Justice Scalia of course affects the cases now before the Court. Votes that the Justice cast in cases that have not been publicly decided are void. Of course, if Justice Scalia's vote was not necessary to the outcome …

Discussion: Slantpoint, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, Washington Post, Betsy's Page and Daily Kos

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

McConnell: Don't replace Scalia until after election — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia should not be replaced until after the presidential election. — Since McConnell sets the Senate's schedule, his remarks signal the GOP's intent …

Discussion: Guardian, Politico, Vox, The Hinterland Gazette, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Moderate Voice and Slantpoint

Darren Hunt / KVIA-TV:

BREAKING: Supreme Court Justice Scalia dies during hunting trip in Marfa — EL PASO - — EL PASO — An El Paso source close to Justice Antonin Scalia tells ABC-7 that the 79-year-old died in his sleep last night after a day of quail hunting at Cibolo Creek Ranch outside of Marfa, Texas.

Discussion: National Review, The Hill, Guardian, Slantpoint, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, RedState, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, Common Dreams and TPNN

Gabriel Malor / The Federalist:

There's Ample Precedent For Rejecting Lame Duck Supreme Court Nominees — Historically, many Supreme Court nominations made in a President's final year in office are rejected by the Senate. That started with John Quincy Adams and last occurred to Lyndon B. Johnson.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

McConnell throws down the gauntlet: No Scalia replacement under Obama — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate should not confirm a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia until after the 2016 election — an historic rebuke of President Obama's authority …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, Unqualified Offerings, Vox and RedState

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

The Simply Breathtaking Consequences Of Justice Scalia's Death — Twenty-four hours ago, Republicans were headed into what remains of the current Supreme Court term with a solid majority and a docket strewn with some of the most consequential cases in decades.

Discussion: Raw Story, naked capitalism, Business Insider, fox13now.com, addictinginfo.org, Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, The Hill and Slantpoint

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Antonin Scalia, Justice on the Supreme Court, Dies at 79 — Justice Antonin Scalia, whose transformative legal theories, vivid writing and outsize personality made him a leader of a conservative intellectual renaissance in his three decades on the Supreme Court, was found dead on Saturday at a resort in West Texas.

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Daily News, Discourse.net, Outside the Beltway, alan.com, RH Reality Check and New York Magazine

Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:

Judiciary chair: ‘Standard practice’ to not confirm SCOTUS nominee in election year — It is “standard practice” to not confirm nominations to the Supreme Court in an election year, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Saturday, following news of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Discussion: Vox

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

How Scalia's Death Will Change the Supreme Court, America, and the Planet — In this era of activist judges, Scalia's absence will reshape the Court whether the Senate confirms a replacement or not. — 2.9k — 2.3k — The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a sad …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Slantpoint, Weekly Standard and Politicus USA

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Scalia's death plunges court, national politics into turmoil … Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court's longest serving member and cornerstone of the modern conservative legal establishment, died Saturday at a ranch in Texas, the court said Saturday night.

Discussion: ABC News, BuzzFeed and The Agonist

Josh Blackman / Josh Blackman's Blog:

Nominations to Supreme Court in Election Year with Divided and Unified Governments — Based on my cursory research, since the Civil War, there have been eleven nominations to the Supreme Court in a presidential election year. Of those nine were confirmed, one withdrawn, and one was not acted upon.

Discussion: USA Today, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dies at 79 — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the intellectual cornerstone of the court's modern conservative wing, whose elegant and acidic opinions inspired a movement of legal thinkers and ignited liberal critics, died Feb. 13 on a ranch near Marfa, Tex. He was 79.

Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:
First reactions on the passing of Justice Scalia (UPDATED)

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Mashable and Talking Points Memo

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Antonin Scalia, Conservative Legal Giant

Discussion: Slate

Patrick Healy / New York Times:
In Republican Debate, Jeb Bush Attacks Donald Trump

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Moves To Block Obama From Naming Scalia Successor

Discussion: TIME

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dead at 79

Discussion: electionlawblog.org, The Hill, ABC News, Slantpoint, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones and Vox Popoli

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Mitch McConnell rules out replacing Antonin Scalia until new president is elected

Discussion: RedState and JustOneMinute

Liz Goodwin / Yahoo Politics:
GOP candidates urge Senate to block Obama's Supreme Court pick

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and ABC News

Todd J. Gillman / Trail Blazers Blog:
Cruz, Rubio, McConnell insist that new president fill Scalia seat on Supreme Court

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Vox

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
Grassley joins call to delay Supreme Court nomination

Discussion: Washington Post and KXAN-TV

Washington Post:
Why the death of a Supreme Court justice in office is unusual

Discussion: ABC News, New York Times, BuzzFeed, Trail Blazers Blog and Marginal REVOLUTION

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog: Is a recess appointment to the Court an option?

Jonathan H. Adler / Washington Post: The passing of a legal giant — Antonin Scalia, R.I.P.

Office Of The Governor:
[Press Release] Governor Abbott Statement On The Passing Of Justice Scalia

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Signal, CBS New York and National Review

Noah Weiland / Politico:

Trump dominates talking time at Republican debate — With the Republican field down to six candidates and the race for South Carolina hanging in the balance, Republicans were desperate to call attention to their campaigns tonight in South Carolina. — Last time around, Ted Cruz …

Discussion: Yahoo Politics

Kira Lerner / ThinkProgress:
Republican Debate Descends Into Total Chaos, Moderator Threatens To ‘Turn This Car Around’

Discussion: TIME and alan.com

CBS News:
How to watch tonight's CBS News Republican debate in South Carolina

Discussion: New York's PIX11, The Right Scoop, Slantpoint, TheBlaze.com and Politico

Steve Chaggaris / CBS News:
Five things to watch for in the CBS Republican debate

Discussion: The Last Refuge

New York Daily News:

KING: Peyton Manning's squeaky-clean image was built on lies, as detailed in explosive court documents showing ugly smear campaign against his alleged sex assault victim — Thirteen years ago, USA Today obtained 74 pages of explosive court documents on Peyton Manning, Archie Manning …

Discussion: NBCSports.com, addictinginfo.org and Balloon Juice

Nicole Gaouette / CNN:

Former Obama intel official: Hillary Clinton should drop out — Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama's former top military intelligence official said Hillary Clinton should pull out of the presidential race while the FBI investigate her use of a private email server for official government communication while secretary of state.

Discussion: AOL and Independent Journal Review