Antonin Scalia, the influential conservative and most provocative member of the Supreme Court, has died. He was 79.
The U.S. Marshals Service in Washington confirmed Scalia’s death at a private residence in the Big Bend area of South Texas.
The service’s spokeswoman, Donna Sellers, says Scalia had retired for the evening and was found dead Saturday morning when he did not appear for breakfast.
Scalia used his keen intellect and missionary zeal in an unyielding attempt to move the court farther to the right and to get it to embrace his "originalist" view of judging after his 1986 appointment by President Ronald Reagan.
Chief Justice John Roberts says Scalia "was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues. His passing is a great loss to the Court and the country he so loyally served."
President Barack Obama is praising the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as a brilliant legal mind who influenced a generation of lawyers and students.
Former President George W. Bush calls Scalia "a towering figure and important judge on our Nation’s highest court." Bush goes on to say "he brought intellect, good judgment, and wit to the bench, and he will be missed by his colleagues and our country."
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