Dear Commons Community,

Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died today at the age of 79.  Justice Scalia passed away due to natural causes at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a luxury resort in West Texas. Justice Scalia was the longest serving member of the Court having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.  A devout Catholic and the first Italian-American on the Court, Justice Scalia is survived by his wife, nine children, and twenty-eight grandchildren.

President Obama said of Scalia that “he had a brilliant legal mind, and that he was one of the most consequential justices and thinkers on the Court.”

President Obama also indicated that he plans to fulfill his constitutional responsibility to nominate a replacement for Scalia in due time.

May Justice Scalia rest in peace!

Tony