1. How will Justice Scalia’s absence be felt in the Supreme Court this term?

2. Who will determine what happens with the cases that have already been heard in this term?

3. What options does President Obama have, according to Mr. Ilya Shapiro from the Cato Institute?

4. Why does law Professor Jonathan Turley say it would be a mistake for President Obama to make a recess appointment to the Supreme Court?

5. What does Cato’s Ilya Shapiro say is a benefit to this debate about a replacement for Justice Scalia?

6. There are two types of judges: activist and constructionist (also called constitutionalist). Liberals generally support the nomination of activist judges and conservatives generally support the nomination of constructionist judges.

• Judicial activism is “the act of replacing an impartial interpretation of existing law with the judge’s personal feelings about what the law should be” (wikipedia)
• A constitutionalist “refers to those who advocate strict adherence to the intentions of the framers of the U.S. Constitution” (wikipedia)

Do you support the nomination of activist or constitutionalist judges? Explain your answer.