president obama's appointments of sonia sotomayor and elena kagan, for example, are both

remember when elena kagan first came to the supreme court a few terms ago, she had been in the solicitor general's office and she didn't sit in a lot of cases she was involved in at her work at justice, so we had just eight justices on a lot of cases when she first got there. so it's not unprecedented, it happens, but to have it now as the court was just about to get into the most sensitive part of the term is just cast a huge cloud over it. >> absolutely. pete williams, thank you for joining us on this busy day. we hope to hear more for you during our special coverage. we turn now by phone, yale university law professor, akyl amar. let's start with your recollection of justice scalia. >> thank you for having me. my condolences to the friends and family of justice scalia. he was a law professor on the court, and he had all sorts of ideas, the way all professors do, so he was of particular interest to me. as you've heard, he was a very gregarious and involuble person, with very strong views on a range of issues, some of which i very much agreed with. he cared about the text of the constit

end to the very well served. >> the materials left over from the elena kagan search. >> i pointed out to someone yesterday or the day before the somebody has been previously considered for supreme court vacancy does not disqualify them from being considered this time around. doesn't mean everybody considered last time will be considered this time but i think more importantly the institutional experience we have in conducting two successful supreme court nominations of sonia sotomayor and elena kagan will be valuable to us as we move forward with this process to fill up the vacancy. >> the interim since the elena kagan nomination, those records have been updated, this is something to add to the list in case we get another nomination. >> i don't have a good sense how that works, the rest of us are not paying attention to the supreme court, what work goes on behind the scenes to keep those records updated. i suspect somebody is thinking about that all the time. what is also true is we have significant resources, a lot of people with legal and supreme court expertise that can get up to sp

they were very close friends for many years, and even justice el late that y ena elena kagan, was charmed by him. he introduced her to quail hunting and she went with him every year. so, he was a remarkable man. controversial ideas. heas the boogie man for many, many liberals in and out o& the courts. but no question, while there may not be a scalia era on the court, you can't point to that many rulings he won, there's scalia influence on the court and in the law. >> and terry, you pointed out with me on the air earlier, he wasn't always on the winning de, as you just said. most recently with same-sex marriage and stipulations for obama care, but one critical role he did play was gore v bush in 2000. talk to me about that case. >> reporter: well, that was the case that tossed the 2000 election into the supreme court. and in that case, hee found with the majority, with chief justice rehnquist and othe, that the presidency should go to george w. bush because, they said, the way that florida was recounting all those ballots was a violation of equal protection. they were doing it in too many

he was the best writer on the supreme court, with the possible exception now of justice elena kagan. and he was just a person that reshaped the debate about the constitution. that's why he's a hero to so many conservatives, that's why he's such a figure foreboding for so manan liberals. >> and terry, how hard do you think it will be for the republicans, if they do get their opportunity, say, come next year, to put somebody of that magnitude back on the court? >> reporter: well, it's going to be very diffjcult, because it is now, obviously, a battleground, with the death of justice scalia scalia. his career in the supreme court was that he desperately wanted it's one of the reasons that ronald reagan put him on the court, and he was never able to, and now that will be the leading point of debate in his replacement. will the next justice be as conservative? democrats do hold almost a filibuster strength in the united states senate, so, whoever gets to appoint the next justice is going to be dealing with a much more polarized washington. justice scalia may be the last of an era, a justi

that's because elena kagan has not been a moderate, she has voted lock step with the other liberals onse i know you feel strongly, and this is in the constitution, it is the president's right to nominate here practically, knowing the division right now, do you see sri srinivasan -- you did mention a couple of candidates that did get unanimous support but this is a supreme court justice and a different level. do you see a candidate who could get -- who could peel enough republican votes away to get confirmation? >> the goldilocks candidate that you were referring to. >> yes. >> absolutely not. i don't think such a person exists. i think the republican party is dug in on a position that barack obama is not going to fill this seat with goldilocks or anyone else. and i think that's the end of the story. i just -- you know, these seats are too important to the base of the republican party to let barack obama fill it in the last year of his presidency when they have the chance to run out the clock. so i think it's interesting who president obama is going to nominate, but the idea that this p

served as special counsel to chairman patrick lahey, and on the nominations for sonia sotomayor and elena kagan to finally, jamaal greene, in addition to being the vice dean at columbia, he teaches and writes on u.s. constitutional law and theory and the federal courts. from 2007 to 2008, he was the alexander fellow at the new york university of law and was law clerk to justice paul stevens on the supreme court. he received a jd from yale law school in 2005, where he served as the "article" editor. these are some pretty heavy-duty professors. i have also heard from some more conservative leaning professors who believe the same thing, that the constitution is the constitution, that shall means it shall, that people have a duty to do their job. i am sure all of our colleagues were shocked when justice scalia died. that happened. but when things happen, you have your jobs to do. you have your jobs to do. that is really what this is about today, about a constitutional duty, a solemn oath that people take to do their jobs, respecting not only the history of this country, but really the basic constit

member that -- at a white house correspondents dinner, justice scalia and said, you should appoint elena kaganthe nomination that time. it went to sotomayor, another smart person. but then kagan was the second obama nominee confirmed. >> and she is there today. justice scalia also liked the fact that his harvard law dean, elena kagan, appointed more than one originalist to the harvard faculty. >> and i thought her tribute to him, what she wrote after he died, was so significantly auditory and personal. we were discussing that our favorite was ruth bader ginsberg saying, he was my best buddy. >> that was a great tribute of how people can disagree and still respect each other. i was very moved by that tribute. and by their whole friendship overall. >> both ginsberg and scalia were very blunt in recent years about the -- well, the current state of congress, let's leave it at that. but certainly the dysfunction in washington. >> another reason why, as sad as this day is, celebrating this mass is also a tribute to the better angels in washington. there still are people who work together across the

justice elena kagan: he brought a sense of humor to almost everything he did. he teased people, he ribbed people. would make you laugh, make you cry, make you do it allat the same time. he was the most extraordinary storyteller i've ever heard. roger wilkins: and the shambling kind of folksy thing that marshall did, very shrewd. you didn't realize the brilliance and the flexibility that he brought to bear with the way he used language and the way he used his own body. and it worked. narrator: by the late 1930s marshall was traveling 30.000 miles a year, often alone and with little money. sometimes he would visit 2 or 3 different cities in a single day. and when he was home, he and buster made the best of their time together (music) ♪ harlem is harmony, love is a melody, harlem is harmony, ♪ ♪harlem is harmony, harlem is harmony, harlem is harmony. ♪ jose anderson: marshall took advantage of the culture of harlem. boxing matches with joe louis and dinners and music. narrator: thurgood and buster arrived as the harlem renaissance was coming to a close, but the ef

senate when we had hearings on elena kagan.member of the senate house doesn't have to play a role, something the founders left only to the senate to provide advice so it is the president and the senate and normally the supreme court is completely separated from politics. but the one time and the one place where the supreme court is not separated from politics is the appointment process. cheryl: i want to let you know really quick the president and the first lady are arriving in the great hall of the supreme court, standing behind two clerics that you see on your screen, the president and first lady choosing to pay their respects to justice antonin scalia, 79 years old, passed away saturday in texas, saying a prayer. the cascades, flag draped, there was a a private ceremony earlier today for the remaining supreme court justices and we should say the service tomorrow, the president and first lady will not be attending, at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception and antonin scalia's son is going to be lead

he reminded that the president took about four to five weeks to nominate elena kagan and sonia sotomayor. so, we could have a nominee from the president before the end of march. stacey: justice scalia died last weekend in texas at the age of 79. author harper lee has died. she was 89. lee was best known for her book, "to kill a mockingbird." the best seller was published in 1960. it gave a child's viewpoint of racial injustice in a small, southern town. steve: making news right now, defense officials say a top isis terrorist is dead, after u.s. warplanes hit multiple targets in libya, including an islamic state training camp. the strikes took place close to the tunisian border. investigating how and why a tourist helicopter crashed into the ocean, near pearl harbor. this cell phone video shows the helicopter hovering in the air, right before plunging into the water and overturning. bystanders rushed to help free the passengers, who were trapped inside the sinking wreckage. chris: somebody said, "there's somebody still in the aircraft." so, i dove through from the pilot's side and the bac

elena kagan seem to have one as well. if you go into look at the justices financial disclosure reports and see where they're traveling, who they're speaking to you get a really interesting since of what's made of wood -- motivating these folks. maybe alicia with questions but one of the traveling to some places versus others. but the bottom line is we've seen that evolution with the justices. i think we've also seen that with solicitor general. they take on a following as well. i think about donald verrilli is he was as you suggested a pretty well-known, respected advocate before it got to the solicitor general's office. i remember listening to the arguments in the affordable care act case and the arizona immigration case, thinking to myself, boy, this guy is not doing well at all. i think most people listen to the moral arc of his body got his tail kicked by the justices. i remember turning off the oral our threats and thinking to myself this case usually much more interesting. then i to stop and think for a couple days,

one of his great friends, and people would be surprised to hear that, was elena kagan. my former student and now supreme court justice. >> but he also, on the court, he was also divisive figure. we certainly give our condolences to his family. but we don't want to just be hypocritical or sugar coat our views on some of the comments. for example like he made during the affirmative action case you referred to last year. i was in the court listen to this. >> there are -- there are those who contend that it does not benefit african-americans to -- to get them into the university of texas, where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less -- a slower-track school where they do well. >> i mean, how did his willingness to be polarizing affect the court? >> you know, i think that it's going to be a problem in trying to figure out who's going to be the person who replaces him. but you know, you think about it. he wasn't the most conservative justice. the most conservative justice was an african-american man. clarence thomas. >> very much s

, very specifically send us elena kagan. and so what we cleaned from that certainly if that's the only evidence we have, private evidence of justice scalia's thinking, is he would want the president to act in this situation and choose who the president wanted. >> well, i don't -- no. i think in that situation justice scalia thought, well, there's going to be a liberal, let's get the best possible liberal and let's also get a liberal i find he personally congenial. and they became good friends. it is a club. but notice what mitch mcconnell's blanket statement did. and it was dumb politics. because it changed the incentives for the president. if the republicans had been cagier. if they had played their cards closer to their vest about what they're going to do, the incentive to president obama would be to try to find someone he liked but that was also acceptable to the republicans. a kind of democratic david souter. to get -- slip somebody by the republicans and hope that maybe it would work. the republicans would know it was d

blunt and disagreeable -- two of his closest friends on the bench were ruth bader ginsburg and elena kagan n who both generally vote with the liberal members of the bench. one of the biggest issues sticking around the campaign trail is discussion over president obama's right to appoint a new supreme court justice to replace antonin scalia. he was dead for just hours before this became a hot topic on the campaign trail. referendum on the u-s supreme court""the presidnet under our constitution has a duty to send forth a name to be considered@by the senate and the senate has a duty to consider that""basically, they don't have the right to do that but i keep saying are the republicans going to crack are they going to fail, what's going to happen?""it is important for the persoso appointing them to have some accountability. the president is a lame duck." president obama has been pretty dire in his response. he says that he'lname his nominee in due time for the senate to consider -- and that what it supposed to happen next is very clear. "i intend to nominate somebody, to present them to the ame

newshour president obama's term expires in 342 days, and on average, his two supreme court picks, elena kagan and sonia sotomayor required 76 days from nomination to confirmation. so, the president has the time, and he says, the desire to appoint someone new. but already, republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has indicated he's not inclined to schedule confirmation hearings or a vote for a new nominee, because, he says the vacancy should be filled by the next president, not the current one. for more on this brewing showdown, i'm joined from washington by the newshour's political director lisa desjardins. welcome, thanks for being here. we saw already just a few hours after scalia's passing the partisan fight started to break out. from your perspective, how big of a showdown do you think this is going to be? >> this is a massive showdown, it's going to affect congress, it is going to affect the presidential election. it is really a great tremor in american politics. not only because of the court cases that i know your interviewers are familiar with, but because of the divide in con

justice elena kagan said he is the justice who had the most important impact over the years on how wek about law. ronald reagan appointed him in 1986, making him the first italian-american to serve on the nation's highest court.

recent years he formed oochs a bomb with the newest justice, elena kagan taking her to the shooting range and on an actual hunting trip. scalia was unapologetic about his faith and beliefs m. 2013 he chided a reporter who expressed shock scalia actually believed in heaven and hell and god and the devil. here is what he said at the 2009 catholic prayer breakfast. >> one can be sophisticated and believe in god. hec heck. >> first mover is easy to believe in as a big bang triggered by nothing. one can even believe in a personal god, a benevolent being who loves mankind. >> and, of course, there were those fiery dissents filled with flowery language and pointed jabs. that was true of his dissent from last year's opinion legalizing gay marriage. scalia found zero constitutional grounds to do so and wrote this. quote, the world is not expect logic in poetry or inspirational pop philosophy. it demands them in the law. the stuff contained in today's opinion has to diminish this represeutation for clear thinki and sober analysis. in recent years justice scalia wrote a landmark decision and maintai

court was going to restrict affirmative action, but by a 5-3 vote, because more liberal justice elena kagan was not participating in the case, because she worked on it when she was in the obama administration. so that's likely to be, now, a 4-3 ruling, limiting affirmative action, and that decision will come out, because there is still a majority, even though it's a four-justice majority. >> now, some of the other cases that are pending, president obama's immigration plan. he's lost in the lower courts, right? this was the best chance for the mirpgs. and what difference does this make? >> well, it probably is not going to be a great victory for the administration. if it ends up being a 4-4 tie. but what it does do is leaves in place the prospect that in a later term, if hillary clinton were to, for example, win the election, or bernie sanders, a democratic president were to replace justice scalia, given it's unlikely and we can talk about this, that president obama will get to nominate justice scalia's and appoint justice scalia's successor given the politics, in that scenario, that immigra

reason why he was such good friends with justices who he disagreed with like ruth bader ginsburg and elena kagan. and i was lucky enough to have one conversation with him that explained his appeal to me. it was ten years ago this april, when i spoke at the white house correspondents dinner. i don't know if you guys saw that. (chf not a lot of people laughed in the front row. (laughter) some people laughed in the back of the room but the important people in the front row, mostly silent when i gave the speech. even making eye contact with me. the one exception was antonin sc had be caught a week earlier doing this to the photographers. i did my gestures at him. after it was over, he came up to me, again, no one is talking to me in the whole damn room! and antonin scalia comes up to me and says, it's great, great! did you give me one of these? ahhh! i said, sir, first, i want to ask, would that be legal for me to do? he said, of course, it would be legal. i said, yeah, i gave you one of these. he said, great stuff! great stuff! good night. and he left. i watched him go and i thought, don't you make

and with liberal justice elena kagan already *recused* from the case, that leaves 7- supreme court judges. all eyes are now on justice anthony kennedy who has rendered unpredictable decisions in the past. "kennedy is likely going to vote for the majority in this.. which would be a 4-3 majority to do something to affirmation action. now the question of what? *that* would be the big question." burrus says the supreme court ruling could only affect the university of texasa& demand more transparency for many universities nationwide on *their* affirmitive action $ policies.. a or outright *ban* affirmative actiona& as unconstitutional. "that is probably less likely going to happena& just because it'd be a pretty big change. but it could happen."with a written decision on affirmitive action expected in this term, burrus says it's back to the drawing board for the remaining 7. "very few leaks come out of the supreme courta& which is a good thing about what actually goes on behind the scenes. but this changes they're doing.in washington i'm jeff barnd, fox 28 news. a federal judge in california i

charge it pales in comparison with what would happen if scalia were replaced by seating another elena kagan. >> it's one thing if they turn him down, but it's another thing if they refuse to hold a hearing. >> i think this is the moment of his life for mitch mcconnell. he knows the rules, he knows how to get around things fp this is purely a decision of political decision, how best to turn this guy or girl down, whoever it is. and it could go one way or the other. that's nothing but tactics. in the end the republicans have to be absolutely united on the fact that they will not accept an obama nominee one way or the other. >> i think that's right. and mcconnell can be trusted. the interesting question to me is how this effects the republican race going-forward for the nomination. >> marginally, by making the supreme court helpful. he's the most sophisticated healthier in the race, he clerked for the chief justice of the united states. in that capacity he argued cases before the supreme court, so he understands the dynamic of a small face to face society. this should be a difficulty for mr. t

justice elena kagan said he is the justice who had the most important impact over the years on how wehink and talk about law. ronald reagan appointed him in 1986, making him the first italian-american to serve on the nation's highest court. his three decades on the court inspired a conservative movement and inflamed liberal critics. he championed a judicial philosophy known as originalism, which seeks to interpret the constitution at the time it was written. he ridiculed the notion of a living constitution. he was known for his witty, sarcastic, and often humorous dissent. he once wrote, an issue of this sort will frequently come before the court clad in sheep's clothing, but this wolf comes as a wolf. he relished jousting during oral arguments. his landmark 2008 decision in district of columbia versus heller held that the second amendment gives individuals the right to own guns. he could be very provocative at times on social issues like same-sex marriage, abortion, and affirmative action. he was a passionate defender of the death penalty. his rulings on the sixth amendment often fav

he persuaded elena kagan to shoot skeet. he left dinner early and went to when he didn't arrive to breakfast saturday morning, a person associated with the ranch wept to check on him. he was found in his room, unresponse i have. the catholic die cease of el paso administering his last rites at the ranch. a hearse carrying his pod towards el paso. condolences pouring in from former presidents, current candidates, and government officials. paul ryan saying i, learned so much from this man. i knew him. i respected him. i looked up to him. we all did. at this point, no autopsy has been performed. in fact, a local justice of the peace pronounced the justice dead over the phone and then came out to the ranch to say there was no foul play involved and turned the body over the federal marshalls. the fbi is also up vest gating. george? >> okay, jim. thank you. justice scalia's opinions are legendary. he was a hero to conservatives. terry moran has covered his ten your for so long. he joins us from mexico city. good morning, terry. >>

samuel alito and justice elena kagan in the blue shirt. >> let's listen s i will give you rest. i am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for yourselves, for my yoke is easy and my burden light. out of the dep manies i try to you, o, lord, lord, hear my voice. let your ears be attentive to my voice and supplication. if you, o lord, mark iniquities, lord, who could stand? but with you is found forgiveness that you may be revered. i trust in the lord. my soul trusts in his word. my soul waits for the lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn for with the lord is kindness and with him plenteous redemption and he will redeem israel from all of their iniquities. let us pray for the coming of the kingdom as jesus taught us -- our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. god of faithfulness, in your wisdom you have called your servant anto

justin elena kagan said he's the justice said he's that the me most influence on how we think and talk about law. ronald reagan put him on the court and he inspired a conservative movement and championed originalism and the approach seems to interpret the constitution as it was understood at the time it was written. he ridiculed the idea of a living constitution. the notion the founding document should evolve with the times. he was known for his witty, sarcastic dissent and wrote an issue of this sort will come before the court clad so to speak in sheep's clothing but this wolf comes as a wolf. always eager for debate he relished jousting with advocates and his landmark 2008 decision in district of colombia versus keller upheld the second amendment gives individuals the right to own guns. justice scalia could be very provocative at times on social issues like same-sex marriage and abortion and was a passionate defender of the death penalty and his ruling under the sixth amendment often favored criminal defendants and enjoyed opera and hunting and singing at parties and was justice ruth

president obama's previous nominations for justices are sonya sotomayor and elena kagan. >> text governor abbott had this to stay "devastating loss of justice scalia a legal giant who steered the supreme court on to the constitution. god bless him. supreme court scalia found dead in texas at the age of 79. >>> and we will of course continue to update this breaking story throughout the newscast and on fox29.com. we'll post the latest on updates on our home page. >>> we are following even more breaking stories tonight at 6:00 pile up involving dozens of vehicles on i78 in central pennsylvania. at least three people are dead and scores more are now in the hospital. 50 vehicles tractor trailers, box cars and all kinds of other vehicles involved. shutting down the interstate in both directions. some of the injured are in critical condition tonight. investigators say it looks like snow may have played a role in it. >>> and after a day of bitter cold that could land this weekend into the record books believe it or not it's about get even colder. fox 29 weather authority has new information about