--- description: Justice Antonin Scalia's death leaves a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court title: How the Next Supreme Court Justice Will Be Chosen image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f1e026d639a6b48/69887d98bc6cfc6feb3dbbb3/antonin-scalia-dead-supreme-court-justice-09.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How the Next Supreme Court Justice Will Be Chosen by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 13, 2016 11:27 PM CUT  In this Sept. 26, 1986 file photo, retiring Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, administers an oath to Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, as Scalia's wife, Maureen, holds the bible during ceremonies in the East Room of White House, Washington. In this Sept. 26, 1986 file photo, retiring Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, administers an oath to Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, as Scalia's wife, Maureen, holds the bible during ceremonies in the East Room of White House, Washington.Charles Tasnadi—AP by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 13, 2016 11:27 PM CUT With the [sudden death](http://time.com/4220662/justice-antonin-scalia-dead-at-79/ "undefined") of Supreme Court Justice [Antonin Scalia](http://time.com/4220692/antonin-scalia-biography/ "undefined") at 79, the process will soon begin to [replace the conservative Reagan appointee](http://time.com/4220717/antonin-scalia-dead-replacement-mcconnell/ "undefined"). The President and the [U.S. Senate](http://time.com/4220671/justice-antonin-scalia-death-reactions/ "undefined") share the responsibility of appointing nominees. President Obama has successfully appointed two justices to the supreme court since taking office, Justice Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Justice Elena Kagan in 2010\. He may choose to appoint one more before he leaves office in 2017, though whosoever he chooses will likely face a tough test in the Republican-controlled Senate. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell says the Supreme Court vacancy left by Scalia should not be filled until there is a new president, according to the Associated Press. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4220701/justice-scalia-death-supreme-court-replacement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4220701/justice-scalia-death-supreme-court-replacement/"},"headline":"How the Next Supreme Court Justice Will Be Chosen","datePublished":"2016-02-13T23:27:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:03:51.610Z","description":"Justice Antonin Scalia's death leaves a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court","url":"https://time.com/4220701/justice-scalia-death-supreme-court-replacement/","keywords":["Barack Obama","justice","Antonin Scalia topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f1e026d639a6b48/69887d98bc6cfc6feb3dbbb3/antonin-scalia-dead-supreme-court-justice-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f1e026d639a6b48/69887d98bc6cfc6feb3dbbb3/antonin-scalia-dead-supreme-court-justice-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Antonin Scalia, Warren Burger","caption":"In this Sept. 26, 1986 file photo, retiring Chief Justice Warren Burger, right, administers an oath to Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, as Scalia's wife, Maureen, holds the bible during ceremonies in the East Room of White House, Washington.","creditText":"Charles Tasnadi—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4220701/justice-scalia-death-supreme-court-replacement/","name":"How the Next Supreme Court Justice Will Be Chosen"}}]}] ```