The Supreme Court after Scalia

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died this weekend at the age of 79 after serving on the court for nearly 30 years. He was a strict constructionist - he believed that the Constitution was not a living document to be interpreted as the court saw fit. His dissents often fell along constructionist line, and often injected biting humor into the proceedings. Scalia's death leaves a cloud of uncertainty over the major cases before the Supreme Court now, and an incipient political firestorm in the waning days of President Obama's final term.