U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79 of apparent natural causes, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement on Saturday.
Scalia, 79, had reportedly been invited to Cibolo Creek Ranch, a resort in the Big Bend region south of Marfa, according to the San Antonio News-Express, which was the first to report his death. He arrived there on Friday to attend a party with about 40 other guests. However, after failing to come down for breakfast, a person affiliated with the ranch went to check his room and found his body.
While the statement failed to indicate Scalia's cause of death, an official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Antonin appeared to die from natural causes and there is no evidence of foul play.
As he released his statement, Abbott referred to Scalia as a man of God and an "unwavering defender of the written Constitution."
"He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution," Abbott said. "We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers."
Nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, Scalia was one of the staunchest conservative members of the court throughout his tenure, reported CBS News. In fact, he was one of the most prominent proponents of "originalism" - a conservative legal philosophy that believes the US Constitution has a fixed meaning and does not change with the times.
Evidence of this was seen in his role during major decisions such as the Voting Rights Act and the death penalty, as well as his continued opposition to abortion and gay rights.
With his death, the U.S Supreme Court faces a potential shift in power since President Barack Obama can now add a fifth liberal justice to the high court. He has made two succesful appointments; the first was Judge Sonia Sotomayor who was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 6, 2009, and the second was Solicitor General Elena Kagan who was confirmed by the Senate on August 5, 2010.
