Ballot Talks: Scalia, and the future of the Supreme Court

Guests: Jeffrey Rosen, Laura Little

This week on Ballot Talks: we’ll discuss the legacy of Justice Antonin Scalia and the implications his death will have on the future of the Supreme Court. Known for his scathing and often humorous dissenting opinions, Scalia was one of the most influential and outspoken justices to have ever served in the judicial branch of the federal government. He was a self-proclaimed “originalist,” that is, he tried to interpret cases as the writers of the Constitution would have, ushering in a conservative movement that still reverberates today. The vacancy he is leaving on the country’s highest judicial body has already sparked a political battle between Democrats and Republicans, the latter of which are claiming that the president does not have the authority to appoint a new justice despite what the Constitution says about the matter. We’re joined today by JEFFREY ROSEN, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and by federal court and constitutional law expert LAURA LITTLE, Charles B. Klein Professor of Law and Government and senior advisor to the dean at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law.