Justice Scalia’s Casket Put on View at Supreme Court

Only an hour after he passed, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement saying, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice”.

Gov. Doug Ducey, who is in Washington, D.C., visited the U.S. Supreme Court to pay his respects to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Thousands of mourners were paying their respects today to Justice Antonin Scalia as his casket rested in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court, where he spent almost three decades as one of its most influential members.

On a chilly, overcast day, Scalia’s casket was carried up the courthouse’s grand marble stairs and into its Great Hall by Supreme Court police officers in ceremonial dress, with a group of former Scalia law clerks flanking them in two long lines.

“There are plenty of judges who are on high courts already who have had unanimous support of the Republicans”.

Scalia died at a Texas ranch last weekend at the age of 79.

But Senate Republicans, who must approve the nominee, have made it clear they do not intend move forward with the process until after the 2016 election.

Members of the Scalia family reportedly are okay with the president’s decision to not attend the funeral. A total of 98 former Scalia law clerks will take turns standing vigil during the day.

“The president’s team, over the course of this week, has spent a lot of time preparing materials for the president’s review, and I would expect over the weekend that the president will begin to dig into the materials that have been prepared for him”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Retired justices John Paul Stevens and David Souter are expected to attend, as is Vice President Joe Biden.

Scalia will be buried after a funeral Saturday in Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the country’s largest Catholic church.