For the first time in 25 years, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin its term with only eight judges because Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February, has not been replaced.
It’s also the first time since 1864 there will be a vacancy on the Supreme Court bench on a presidential election day, according to the Pew Research Center.
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| The Supreme Court. Credits to Beatrice Murch, Creative Commons |
“It’s not that unusual for vacancies on the Supreme Court,” said Charles Turner, a political science professor at Chico State University, "but the unusual thing about this situation is that the Republican-led Congress doesn’t want to act on it for an entire year.”
Turner said he believes the vacancy will continue to have a negative impact on the American people until a replacement is found.
“It’s important that huge constitutional issues are resolved and this situation will just prevent any progress from being made,” Turner said.
In cases where the justices vote ends in a tie, the decisions will be remanded and often leads to many different rulings in many different parts of the country.
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| Charles Turner, Political Science Professor at Chico State. Photo Credits: The Orion |
Since Scalia’s death, three Supreme Court decisions have ended in ties, according to Turner. “This will continue to happen and will leave a lot of important decisions to the lower courts and will leave inconsistent rulings across the nation,” Turner said.
Riley Quinn, a legal studies major at Chico State University, said: "It’s unfair that tie votes will be brought down to lower courts because on really important and sensitive issues Republican states will vote against issues like abortion or gay rights."
However, Republicans and Democrats alike may see this as an opportunity to appoint a judge who aligns with their ideologies. With a new president coming in, this will be a crucial election in the judge-appointment process.
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| Alan Gibson, Political Science professor at Chico State. Photo Credits: CSU Chico |
“This can either be a negative or a positive, it all depends on your politics, really. Republicans chose not to go through with nomination(New Supreme Court justice nomination) because of the possibility of a new Republican president,” said Alan Gibson, a political science professor at Chico State University. “Maybe a Republican-led congress may even go as far as not nominating anyone for the next four years if they lose the election.”
However, Gibson he said believes that there are some positives to a deadlocked Supreme Court.
In a March labor union case, for example, the Supreme Court upheld a decision that would have removed mandatory fees for those who chose not to join labor unions.
“Had Scalia been there that bill would have certainly gone to the Republicans, so sometimes a 4-4 decision isn’t always bad,” Gibson said.