The death of a US Supreme Court  judge would normally not have repercussions within the political class. However, the passing last weekend of Justice Antonin Scalia – the strongest conservative voice in the apex judiciary – has generated fresh political uncertainty, indeed an ideological conflict, in the season of pre-election primaries. In the immediate aftermath, the focus has shifted from prospects in the forthcoming primaries to the “political battlefield” in Washington. Barack Obama has pledged to move forward to nominate a successor, a signal of intent that has provoked the Republicans to advance a counter-pledge, specifically to block whatever decision the Oval office might announce. In parallel with Congress and the Presidency, the US Supreme Court is the third arm of the constitutional structure of governance. 

As it turns out, the death of the most senior of the nine judges has caused a flutter both within the executive and the legislature. More accurately, justice hangs in the balance with the court split evenly – with four justices on either side of the liberal-conservative divide. This divide is acutely manifest in the composition of Congress, and is now at the root of the dilemma of the executive. For more than 200 years, the Supreme Court has made some of the most momentous decisions on the laws that govern the United States. If the mood in the Republican camp is any indication, the President&’s choice is unlikely to be greeted with even a grudging acceptance.

Obama&’s choice could be pivotal for governance as he goes through the wrap-up motions of his Presidency. Certain crucial policy-planks are scheduled to come up in the months ahead for scrutiny in the Supreme Court,  pre-eminently the limits imposed by the President on fossil-fuel emissions, affirmative action, voting rights and his order protecting millions of illegal immigrants from deportation. 

The selection of a new judge has seldom been more fraught with political and ideological angst. Whoever is chosen will exercise a swing vote in the federal court, deciding whether it becomes a new force for the ideological construct in America. The issue at stake, therefore, is more than just filling a vacancy; a lot will hinge on the future of progressive or conservative ideology as the country gears up for elections. 

While Democrats view the vacancy as an opportunity for Obama to put a third justice on the court before he leaves office next January, Republicans have referred to him as a  lame-duck President who should desist from doing any such thing. Will he be able to effect a choice to his liking? Even the Americans are not sure; they do realise however that Justice Scalia&’s death has caused a constitutional imbroglio.