With the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Saturday many are asking what will happen to the cases being considered during the current term of the Supreme Court.
The Court will observe a period of mourning for Scalia, after which, the Justices will again begin to decide cases before them.
There are several high-profile cases being heard and decided. Among them, cases asking if certain companies must pay for contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act, if executive action on immigration is legal, how voting districts are to be drawn, and if states can regulate who can perform abortions and where they are conducted.
Since there are now only eight Justices on the Supreme Court, there is a potential for a vote on a decision in a case to come to a 4-4 split – the four Justices who are considered liberal -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan -- voting against the four who are considered conservative -- Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Samuel Alito.
If votes are cast on decisions and the vote splits down conservative and liberal lines ending up 4-4, then that decision is viewed the same as if the Court made no ruling. That means that the decision cannot be considered as precedent – a decision in a case that serves as a guide for similar cases that arise in the future.
In the case of a 4-4 split, the ruling by the lower court on the case that is being reviewed by the Supreme Court will stand.
Votes Scalia may have taken prior to his death are void, since the cases are not considered decided until the rulings are made public.
If the decision on cases already heard was not a 4-4 split, then the majority rules, and the decisions hold the legal weight they always have.
Having an even number of justices to decide on cases in the Supreme Court is not unheard of. Justices have died while serving before, but the more common way the court would get to an even vote would be if a Justice recuses himself or herself from hearing the case.
Sources: Scotusblog.com; supremecourthistory.org
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