On the Supreme Court, there are normally nine judged, but one has recently passes away. Judge Antonin Scalia recently passed away on February 13th. Scalia was 78 and died in his sleep during his trip to Texas. There was no autopsy performed, nor was there any investigation due to the fact that Scalia’s private physician revealed that he was had many health issues and was not feeling very well the night he passed. Doctors believe that he died of natural causes. Scalia was appointed to the court in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. Scalia is the longest serving justice on the Supreme Court. Once a Supreme Court justice dies, the President is normally the one who chooses the person who will fill the new position, but since Scalia died so close to the end of President Obamas second term, there is much debate over whether Obama should get to fill the position or the new President who will be elected in 2016. President Barak Obama plans to nominate a new court justice despite all the protest from Republicans to wait until next election. Once Obama decides who he wishes to nominate that person will have to go in front of the Senate and get the majority vote. Rarely is a Supreme Court nominee forced to withdraw or is rejected. Since becoming President, Obama has already appointed two Supreme Court judges during his two terms, and may be lucky enough to get a third. Supreme Court judges serve until they retire or pass away. This will give Obama a huge amount of lasting power in the court system.