U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia found dead at West Texas ranch 
 
 Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead of apparent natural causes Saturday on a luxury resort in West Texas, federal officials said. 
 
 Scalia, 79, was a guest at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a resort in the Big Bend region south of Marfa. 
 
 Scalia arrived at the 30,000-acre ranch on Friday and attended a private party with about 40 people that night, according to a federal official. 
 
 He left the party and retired to bed earlier than others, according to Donna Sellers, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Marshals Service. 
 
 When he failed to appear at breakfast, a person involved with the ranch went to his room, where he discovered his body. A priest was called to administer last rites. 
 
 A federal official, who asked not to be named, said there was no evidence of foul play and it appeared that Scalia died of natural causes. 
 
 RELATED: Inside the West Texas ranch where Antonin Scalia was found dead 
 
 Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, of the Western Judicial District of Texas, was notified about the death from the U.S. Marshals Service. 
 
 U.S. District Judge Fred Biery said he was among those notified about Scalia's death. 
 
 "I was told it was this morning," Biery said of Scalia's death. "It happened on a ranch out near Marfa. As far as the details, I think it's pretty vague right now as to how," he said. "My reaction is it's very unfortunate. It's unfortunate with any death, and politically in the presidential cycle we're in, my educated guess is nothing will happen before the next president is elected." 
 
 RELATED: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump among those to react to Scalia's death on social media 
 
 The U.S. Marshal Service, the Presidio County sheriff and the FBI were involved in the investigation. 
 
 Officials with the law enforcement agencies declined to comment. 
 
 A gray Cadillac hearse pulled into the ranch Saturday afternoon and left about 5 p.m. The hearse came from Alpine Memorial Funeral Home. 
 
 Scalia's body was taken to El Paso, where it will be escorted back the nation's capital by U.S. marshals and U.S. Supreme Court Police. 
 
 RELATED: Scalia 'respected and idealized' by St. Mary's law students 
 
 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement Saturday afternoon, calling Scalia a man of God, a patriot and an "unwavering defender of the written Constitution." 
 
 "He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution," Abbott said. "We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers." 
 
 Scalia's death has far-reaching implications for the Supreme Court and a round of major cases the justices are set to decide this summer, including Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, which challenges the university's affirmative action policy, plus a case that contests Obama's immigration policy and another that reexamines the meaning of "one person, one vote," said former U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez. 
 
 RELATED: Key opinions by Justice Antonin Scalia 
 
 President Barack Obama is unlikely to successfully name a new justice to replace Scalia before his second presidential term ends, Gonzalez said, because Congress will block any appointment he tries to make. 
 
 "I don't see that the Republican-led Senate would confirm anybody chosen by President Obama," Gonzalez said. 
 
 Gonzalez only met Scalia once, when he spotted the justice walking in the U.S. Capital to view a Supreme Court exhibit. Gonzalez asked him how Scalia was doing; Scalia said, "Fine." 
 
 "I prevailed in my only exchange with the Supreme Court," Gonzalez said. 
 
 The death immediately became an issue in the presidential race as during a GOP debate Saturday night, five of the six candidates taking part urged Republicans to block any attempt by the president to get his third nominee on the court. 
 
 Only Jeb Bush said Obama had "every right" to nominate a justice during his final year in office. 
 
 President Obama, in remarks to the nation, praised Scalia as a brilliant legal mind who influenced a generation of lawyers and students. 
 
 The President also announced his intentions to nominate a successor, saying he plans to fulfill his constitutional responsibility to fill the vacancy. 
 
 Scalia was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. 
 
 Staff writers Vianna Davila, Tyler White, Richard A. Marini and John MacCormack and the Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter 
 
 AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia “a man of God, a patriot and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law” in a statement issued Saturday afternoon that said the 79-year-old justice has died. 
 
 CBS News tweeted Scalia was found dead at a West Texas ranch. 
 
 BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia found dead at West Texas ranch at 79 — CBS News (@CBSNews) February 13, 2016 
 
 CBS News reported Scalia “appeared to die of natural causes,” according to a U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson. 
 
 The replacement for Scalia, who was a fierce conservative on the court, would be President Barack Obama’s third Supreme Court nomination, CBS News reported. Former President Ronald Reagan nominated Scalia to the court in 1986. 
 
 Many current and former political officials — including Abbott, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former President George W. Bush — weighed in with statements of mourning following reports of the justice’s death. 
 
 Cruz, who is vying for the Republican presidential nomination, tweeted, “We owe it to [Scalia], and the nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next president names his replacement.” 
 
 Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement. — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 13, 2016 
 
 In his statement, Cruz said Scalia “will go down as one of the few justices who single-handedly changed the course of legal history.” 
 
 “As liberals and conservatives alike would agree, through his powerful and persuasive opinions, Justice Scalia fundamentally changed how courts interpret the Constitution and statutes, returning the focus to the original meaning of the text after decades of judicial activism,” Cruz’s statement continued. “He was an unrelenting defender of religious liberty, free speech, federalism, the constitutional separation of powers and private property rights. All liberty-loving Americans should be in mourning.” 
 
 Abbott said Scalia set an example for citizens. 
 
 “His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans,” Abbott’s statement continued. “We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.” 
 
 Bush said Scalia will be missed. 
 
 “Laura and I mourn the death of a brilliant jurist and important American, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia,” Bush’s statement said. “He was a towering figure and important judge on our nation’s highest court. He brought intellect, good judgment and wit to the bench, and he will be missed by his colleagues and our country.” 
 
 North Texas Congressman Pete Sessions commented on Twitter about Scalia’s legacy. 
 
 Justice Scalia's legacy is clear – he renewed our nation's belief in the rule of law and reinvigorated how we view the Constitution. — Pete Sessions (@PeteSessions) February 13, 2016 
 
 “I pray that future generations of American patriots will continue to champion the Constitution like Justice Scalia did, and I pray for his family during this difficult time,” Sessions said in a statement. 
 
 Sen. John Cornyn called Scalia “brilliant, principled and resolute in his beliefs.” 
 
 “The author of some of the most consequential and best-written Supreme Court opinions, Justice Scalia will be remembered as a giant of American jurisprudence,” Cornyn’s statement read. “Justice Scalia’s commitment to the law was unwavering, and his devotion to his faith and to his family was unquestionable. Sandy and I are saddened by today’s news, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.” 
 
 Presidential contenders other than Cruz offered thoughts on Twitter regarding Scalia’s death, as well. 
 
 The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2016 
 
 Jeanette & I mourn the loss of Justice Scalia, and our thoughts & prayers are with his wife Maureen & his family. pic.twitter.com/e03KRZRM6q — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 13, 2016 
 
 My thoughts and prayers are with Justice Scalia's family and his colleagues on the court who mourn his passing. pic.twitter.com/Y51xUMMEId — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 13, 2016 
 
 Gov. Kasich's statement on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. pic.twitter.com/MAypwTGQR2 — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) February 13, 2016 
 
 Statement on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: pic.twitter.com/xazj9dDd5c — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 14, 2016 
 
 My statement on the sad loss of a great man, Justice Scalia: https://t.co/H3GGBgk6LH — Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) February 14, 2016 
 
 At Mass, Columba & I prayed for Justice Scalia, who was devout in 
 
 faith and has been brought home to God in heaven. https://t.co/Bumxa6Ikrs — Jeb Bush (@JebBush) February 14, 2016 
 
 (©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) ||||| (CNN) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the leading conservative voice on the high court, has died at the age of 79, a government source and a family friend told CNN on Saturday. 
 
 His death set off an immediate debate about whether President Barack Obama should fill the seat in an election year. Obama said Saturday night that he plans to nominate a replacement, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the nomination should wait until the next president comes into office while top Democrat Harry Reid called for the seat to be filled "right away." 
 
 Scalia died in his sleep during a visit to Texas. A government official said Scalia went to bed Friday night and told friends he wasn't feeling well. He didn't get up for breakfast on Saturday morning, and the group he was with for a hunting trip left without him. 
 
 Someone at the ranch went in to check on him and found him unresponsive. 
 
 The U.S. Marshals Service is helping to arrange for his body to be returned to his home in McLean, Virginia, an official told CNN, not to investigate his death. 
 
 There will be no autopsy performed, a source familiar with the case confirmed to CNN. The decision for no autopsy was made both by the family and the Texas Justice of the Peace, the source said. 
 
 Marshals were not at the resort in Texas where he died, but were called there after the fact, a law enforcement source told CNN. Mashals help supplement security for traveling justices. 
 
 Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara pronounced Scalia dead over the phone Saturday afternoon, according to the Washington Post . Guevara told the Post she made the determination after being assured by law enforcement at the scene that "there were no signs of foul play." 
 
 Guvara also spoke with Scalia's private physician in Washington and learned the 79-year-old had several chronic conditions. "He was having health issues," she told the Post. Based on her conversations, Guevara determined Scalia's heart stopped beating. "It wasn't a heart attack," Guevara told the Post. "He died of natural causes." 
 
 In a statement, Chief Justice John Roberts said he and other justices were saddened to hear of Scalia's passing. 
 
 "He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues," Roberts said. "His passing is a great loss to the court and the country he so loyally served. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Maureen and his family." 
 
 Obama called Scalia's son, Eugene, to offer his condolences to the entire Scalia family, Deputy White House Press Secretary Eric Schultz said. 
 
 Political fight looming 
 
 Scalia's death in an election year sets up a titanic confirmation tussle over his successor on the bench. The already challenging task of getting a Democratic president's nominee through a Republican-controlled Senate will be made even more difficult as the fight over Scalia's replacement will likely emerge as a dominant theme of a wild presidential election. 
 
 Speaking while on a presidential trip to Rancho Mirage, California, Obama vowed to nominate a successor to Scalia, who he called "a towering legal figure." 
 
 "There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote," Obama said. "These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They're bigger than any one party. They are about our democracy. They're about the institution to which Justice Scalia dedicated his professional life." 
 
 Earlier Saturday, McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, called for the vacancy to be filled after Obama's presidency ends. 
 
 "The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president," McConnell said in a statement. 
 
 But Reid, who represents Nevada, called for the seat to be filled "right away." 
 
 "With so many important issues pending before the Supreme Court, the Senate has a responsibility to fill vacancies as soon as possible," Reid said in a statement. "It would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat. Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate's most essential Constitutional responsibilities." 
 
 Major presence on high court 
 
 Appointed to the court in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan, Scalia was a conservative icon who transformed the court by instilling in it his belief that judges should follow the precise words of the Constitution and not apply a modern interpretation. 
 
 He was the first justice of Italian-American heritage and passed through confirmation with a unanimous vote. 
 
 Scalia changed oral arguments as he became an active participant with tough questions for advocates. 
 
 He will be best known, perhaps, for his landmark decision District of Columbia v. Heller, holding that the Second Amendment protects the right to posses a firearm at home. He was a critic of Roe v. Wade and dissented in last term's same-sex marriage cases. 
 
 He wrote a stinging dissent in the same-sex marriage case Obergefell v. Hodges, calling the decision a "threat to American democracy." 
 
 He believed that marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts. 
 
 He was also concerned that some members of the bench might determine that the death penalty is unconstitutional. 
 
 Scalia caused a stir as recently as December when he made controversial comments during a hearing about the future of a program at the University of Texas that takes race into consideration as one factor of admissions. 
 
 Scalia pushed a point that had been made in some friend of the court briefs filed in the case. It concerns a theory called "mismatch" popularized by authors Stuart Taylor Jr. and Richard Sander that suggests affirmative action programs don't always benefit minorities. 
 
 Although Roberts had mentioned the theory in a different case in 2013, Scalia's language was blunt. 
 
 "There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas, where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well," he said. 
 
 "One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don't come from schools like the University of Texas," he said. 
 
 This term was slated to be every bit as blockbuster as last term. The court is considering a major challenge to public sector unions, a race-conscious admissions plan at the University of Texas, a big abortion case, voting rights, the contraceptive mandate and a challenge to Obama's immigration actions. 
 
 Although in some of the cases Scalia probably indicated to his colleagues in conference which way he was going to vote, those preliminary votes aren't binding and are now void. 
 
 "The entire tenor of this term has now changed," said Stephen Vladeck, a CNN contributor and a law professor at American University Washington College Law. "The court can try to go ahead, but on cases where they are split 4-4, their only options are to leave the lower court decision intact or to hold the case over until Justice Scalia's replacement is confirmed." 
 
 If the Supreme Court is equally divided in a case, ruling 4-4, it means the lower court opinion stands and there is no precedent set by the high court. 
 
 Conservative in thought, not in personality 
 
 The jaunty jurist was able to light up, or ignite, a room with his often brash demeanor and wicked sense of humor, grounded always in a profound respect for American law and its constitutional traditions. 
 
 "What can I say," was a favorite phrase of the man colleagues knew as "Nino." 
 
 As it turned out, quite a lot. 
 
 "Justice Scalia had an irrepressibly pugnacious personality," said Edward Lazarus, a former Supreme Clerk law clerk who wrote about the experience in "Closed Chambers." 
 
 "And even in his early years of the Court, that came out at oral argument when he was the most aggressive questioner. And behind the scenes, where the memos he would write -- what were called 'Ninograms' -- inside the court had a real galvanizing effect on the debate among the justices." 
 
 A sharp mind combined with a sharp pen allowed Scalia to make his point, both to the pleasure and disappointment of his colleagues and the public. 
 
 "He could be belligerent, he was obviously very candid about he felt about things," said Joan Biskupic, a USA Today reporter who wrote a biography of Scalia. "He loved to call it as he saw it, completely not politically correct. In fact, he prided himself on not being PC on the bench in court." 
 
 His New York and Mediterranean roots -- "I'm an Italian from Queens," he was fond of saying -- helped fashion a love of words and debate, combining street smarts with a well-calculated conservative view of the law and its limits on society. 
 
 "He was very good with audiences that weren't predisposed to like him," said Paul Clement, a former Scalia law clerk. "He was incredibly disarming and charming in his own way." 
 
 Scalia, a Catholic, regularly attended Red Mass before each term. He and his wife had nine children and more than 30 grandchildren. 
 
 His best friend on the bench was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom he called his "best buddy" on the court. Last winter, they appeared together in a wide-ranging discussion on constitutional issues. 
 
 "Why don't you call us the odd couple?" Scalia said. 
 
 Political world reacts 
 
 Reaction and condolences quickly poured in from politicians and presidential hopefuls. President George H.W. Bush, who was vice president when Scalia was appointed to the court, called him one of Reagan's "many enduring legacies to the United States." 
 
 "Both his admirers and his detractors agreed that Justice Scalia was one of the sharpest constitutional intellects to ever serve on the bench," Bush said in a statement. "I considered him a personal hero, and Barbara and I were honored to call him a friend. Our heart breaks today for our country, but especially for his wife Maureen and his nine children and extended family. His death is a great loss for us all." 
 
 GOP 2016 front-runner Donald Trump issued his condolences to Scalia's family in a statement but tweeted that his death was a "massive setback" for conservatives. 
 
 "The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY!" Trump tweeted. 
 
 The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2016 
 
 Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders also tweeted his condolences to Scalia's family. 
 
 My thoughts and prayers are with Justice Scalia's family and colleagues, who mourn his passing. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 13, 2016 
 
 Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee, echoed McConnell's call for Obama to hold off on selecting a replacement. 
 
 "Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement," Cruz tweeted. 
 
 Hillary Clinton said in a statement that she "did not hold Justice Scalia's views, but he was a dedicated public servant who brought energy and passion to the bench." 
 
 But, she added, "The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia's seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution. The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons." ||||| Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the fiery conservative who used a sharp intellect, barbed wit and a zeal for verbal combat to fight against the tide of modern liberalism, has died. 
 
 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the intellectual cornerstone of the court's modern conservative wing, whose elegant and acidic opinions inspired a movement of legal thinkers and ignited liberal critics, died Feb. 13 on a ranch near Marfa, Texas. He was 79. The cause of death was not immediately known. "Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patriot, and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement, the first official notice of Scalia's death. "His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans. We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law." Scalia, the first Italian American to serve on the court, was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and quickly became the kind of champion to the conservative legal world that his benefactor was in the political realm. An outspoken opponent of abortion, affirmative action and what he termed the "so-called homosexual agenda," Scalia's intellectual rigor, flamboyant style and eagerness to debate his detractors energized conservative law students, professors and intellectuals who felt outnumbered by liberals in their chosen professions. "He has by the force and clarity of his opinions become a defining figure in American constitutional law," Northwestern University law professor Steven Calabresi said at a Federalist Society dinner honoring Scalia at the 20-year mark of his service on the Supreme Court. He took his seat Sept. 26, 1986. Scalia was the most prominent advocate of a manner of constitutional interpretation called "originalism," the idea that judges should look to the meaning of the words of the Constitution at the time they were written. Rich in history as well as rugged West Texas landscapes and big sky, the Cibolo Creek Ranch where Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away has long been a secluded retreat for celebrities from business leaders to rock stars and actors. Scalia, 79, was found dead on Saturday morning when... He mocked the notion of a "living" Constitution, one that evolved with changing times, as simply an excuse for judges to impose their own ideological views. Critics countered that the same could be said for originalism - and that the legal conclusions Scalia said were dictated by that approach meshed neatly with the justice's views on the death penalty, gay rights and abortion. It is hard to overstate Scalia's impact on the modern court. Upon his arrival, staid oral arguments before the justices became jousting matches, with Scalia aggressively questioning counsel with whom he disagreed, challenging his colleagues and often dominating the sessions. He asked so many questions in his first sitting as a justice that Justice Lewis Powell whispered to Justice Thurgood Marshall: "Do you think he knows the rest of us are here?" Scalia was just as ready for combat outside the court. He relished debating his critics at law schools and in public appearances, although he sometimes displayed a thin skin. He tired of questions about his prominent role in the court's 2000 decision in Bush v. Gore, which halted a recount of the presidential vote in Florida and effectively decided the presidency for Republican George W. Bush. His response to those who raised questions years later: "Get over it." Despite his impact on the legal world, Scalia's views were too far to the right for him to play the pivotal roles on the court that his fellow Reagan nominees - Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy - eventually assumed. Scalia was far better known for fiery dissents than landmark majority opinions. One exception was the court's groundbreaking 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. An avid hunter and a member of his high school rifle team, Scalia wrote the court's 5-to-4 ruling that held for the first time that the Second Amendment afforded a right to gun ownership unrelated to military service. "His views on textualism and originalism, his views on the role of judges in our society, on the practice of judging, have really transformed the terms of legal debate in this country," Elena Kagan said about Scalia when she was dean of Harvard Law School, alma mater to both. "He is the justice who has had the most important impact over the years on how we think and talk about law." After Kagan was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama, she and Scalia became friends and hunting buddies - despite their distinct ideological differences and the fact that Kagan had never shot a gun. They went to Wyoming together in 2012 in hopes of Kagan bagging a big-game trophy like the elk, nicknamed Leroy, whose mounted head dominated Justice Scalia's Supreme Court chambers. But she shot only a white-tailed deer, which Justice Scalia later laughingly said "she could have done in my driveway" at his suburban Virginia home. The sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia will have an immediate impact on numerous cases now pending before the Supreme Court, including several that were expected to split along ideological or political lines with 5-4 votes. Instead, some of those votes now could deadlock, 4 to 4, meaning a... Antonin Gregory Scalia - "Nino" to family, friends and colleagues - was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on March 11, 1936, and grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. His father, Salvatore, came through Ellis Island at 17; he learned English and became a professor of romance languages at Brooklyn College. Scalia's mother, the former Catherine Panaro, was a second-generation Italian American and an elementary school teacher. Not only was Nino their only child, he was the only child of his generation on either side of the family. The whole extended clan doted on him, biographer Joan Biskupic reported in her biography "American Original," and expected achievement. "You're not everybody else," Catherine would say, according to Biskupic. "Your family has standards, and it doesn't matter what the standards of (others) are." In 1953, he graduated first in his class at St. Francis Xavier, a military prep school in Manhattan, and won a naval ROTC scholarship but was turned down by his first choice of college, Princeton. A devout Catholic, he attended his second choice, Georgetown University, where he was the valedictorian of the class of 1957. In his graduation speech, he exhorted his fellow students: "If we will not be leaders of a real, a true, a Catholic intellectual life, no one will!" Scalia then entered Harvard Law School, where he was editor of the law review and graduated magna cum laude in 1960. That same year, he married Maureen McCarthy, a Radcliffe student he'd met on a blind date. She, too, came from a small family, but they made up for it, with five sons and four daughters and literally dozens of grandchildren. "We didn't set out to have nine children," Justice Scalia told Lesley Stahl on the CBS show "60 Minutes." "We're just old-fashioned Catholics, playing what used to be known as 'Vatican Roulette.' " He added that the other four sons were relieved when their brother Paul decided to "take one for the team" and become a priest. 
 
 The Scalias moved around. After traveling across Europe for a year while he was a Harvard Sheldon Fellow, the newlyweds moved to Cleveland, where Scalia joined the Jones Day firm in 1961. On the cusp of becoming partner, he left private practice in 1967 to become a law professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. In 1971, he became general counsel to the new Office of Telecommunications Policy in the Nixon administration; the agency spurred development of the nascent cable industry. From 1972 to 1974, he was chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, followed by three years as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. After Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, won election to the White House, Scalia returned to academia as a professor at the University of Chicago law school. Then Reagan came into office in 1981 and the next year nominated Scalia to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. His name quickly appeared on short lists of potential Supreme Court nominees. Gavin Averill / AP U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died Feb. 13, 2016, at age 79 in Texas. U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died Feb. 13, 2016, at age 79 in Texas. (Gavin Averill / AP) (Gavin Averill / AP) Reagan in 1981 made good on a campaign promise to appoint the court's first woman with his choice of O'Connor, then an Arizona state judge and former legislator. His next chance to leave an imprint came five years later, when Chief Justice Warren Burger announced that he was stepping down. The president decided to elevate Justice William Rehnquist to the chief's job, and Scalia and fellow D.C. Circuit Judge Robert Bork became the finalists for the opening. Bork was the more experienced jurist and a conservative icon, but the 50-year-old Scalia was almost a decade younger and brought the added political benefit of being Italian American. Scalia got the nomination. After a testy Senate battle over Rehnquist's elevation, Scalia sailed through his confirmation hearings and was approved 98 to 0. Future vice president Joseph Biden, then a Democratic senator from Delaware and a stalwart of the Judiciary Committee, later said that his vote for Scalia was the one he most regretted - "because he was so effective." Scalia set out immediately to make his views known - and became exactly the conservatives had hoped for. He had been an influential early supporter of the Federalist Society, a group that political scientist Steven Teles called "the most vigorous, durable and well-ordered organization to emerge from (the) rethinking of modern conservatism's political strategy." Reliance on legislative history as a key element of interpreting statutes was once commonplace. But Scalia railed against the practice, saying that only the words of the statutes matter - a view known as textualism. He likened judges' use of secondary sources such as committee reports or statements made by members of Congress during floor debates to "looking over the faces of the crowd at a large cocktail party and picking out your friends." Even though most justices continued to think legislative history was valuable in interpreting statutes, lawyers arguing before the court learned that they would be upbraided by Scalia for mentioning it. He refused to join opinions that cited legislative history, even in a footnote. Similarly, Scalia redefined and popularized originalism. His approach to understanding the Constitution focused not on the framers' intent but on the meaning of the words to ordinary citizens in 1787. He rejected the notion that the framers wanted the Constitution to be a "living" document designed to accommodate changing circumstances and social values. Nervous anxiety unexpectedly coursed through the decorous, overflow crowd at the University of Chicago Divinity School late Friday. A stocky black man took to a microphone at a death penalty symposium and confronted a panelist whom he disdains. "You have innocent people on Death Row!" declared... "The starting point, in any case, is the text of the document and what it meant to the society that adopted it,"Scalia said at his confirmation hearing. He added that this approach guarded "against the passions of the moment that may cause individual liberties to be disregarded." Liberals, he said, should like such an approach, because it constrained conservatives such as him from turning their personal opinions into public policy. To illustrate, he often said that the Constitution doesn't provide a right for a woman to have an abortion, but it also does not forbid states from making the procedure legal and accessible. He cited his vote on flag-burning - he agreed with the court's majority that the guarantee of free speech allows the practice - as one instance when his allegiance to the Constitution outweighed his personal views. "If it was up to me, if I were king," he said, "I would take scruffy, bearded, sandal-wearing idiots who burn the flag, and I would put them in jail." But he did not note many other examples of originalism dictating views that contradicted his personal beliefs. Even when he wasn't writing for the majority, his opinions provided an influential template for conservative lawyers and politicians. His writing style was certain and clever: "Frequently an issue of this sort will come before the Court clad, so to speak, in sheep's clothing," Scalia wrote in his lone dissent in Morrison v. Olson. ". . . But this wolf comes as a wolf." But he could also be acerbic and dismissive of his opponents. "No justice in Supreme Court history has consistently written with the sarcasm of Scalia," Erwin Chemerinsky, now dean of the University of California at Irvine law school, wrote in a widely noted law review article. "No doubt, this makes his opinions among the most entertaining to read. . . . But I think that this sends exactly the wrong message to law students and attorneys about what type of discourse is appropriate in a formal legal setting and how it is acceptable to speak to one another." New Yorker writer Margaret Talbot thought that Scalia's writing made him a rock star, especially among young conservatives. Of all the justices, she wrote, "Scalia is most likely to offer the jurisprudential equivalent of smashing a guitar onstage." Scalia's blunt critiques may have cost him in finding common ground with some of his colleagues. Students of the court believe that his sharp-tongued put-downs of O'Connor - he once said her reasoning in a case could "not be taken seriously" - affected their relationship. Ron Edmonds / AP President Ronald Reagan speaks at a news briefing at the White House in Washington on June 17, 1986, where he announced the nomination of Antonin Scalia, left, to the Supreme Court as a result of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger's resignation. William Rehnquist is at right. President Ronald Reagan speaks at a news briefing at the White House in Washington on June 17, 1986, where he announced the nomination of Antonin Scalia, left, to the Supreme Court as a result of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger's resignation. William Rehnquist is at right. (Ron Edmonds / AP) (Ron Edmonds / AP) He could also be a provocateur outside the courtroom. A reporter once asked him as he was leaving church if he caught flak for his Roman Catholic beliefs, and Scalia responded by flicking his fingers under his chin, a Sicilian insult. Unlike his colleagues, Scalia eagerly discussed constitutional issues and his personal opinions in public. On several occasions, his out-of-court activities prompted critics to question his impartiality. He once went duck hunting with Vice President Richard Cheney, who at the time was the subject of a lawsuit by the Sierra Club seeking the names of people who participated in the vice president's energy task force. Scalia refused to recuse himself from the case, which the Supreme Court had agreed to hear. 
 
 In 2006, he spoke against giving alleged terrorists jury trials - right before the court was set to hear a case on detainee rights, prompting a group of retired generals and admirals to file a friend-of-the-court brief asking him to recuse himself from hearing the appeal filed by Osama bin Laden's alleged driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan. He participated in that case but had to sit out one that challenged the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. In remarks to a Knights of Columbus rally before the case arrived at the Supreme Court, he suggested that an appeals court had erred in agreeing with the challenger. That said, Scalia often played the role of charming rogue. In less-partisan times, he was a fixture at Georgetown parties; he loved opera and led carol-singing at the court's annual Christmas parties. Every year when Boston University law professor Jay Wexler compiled the number of times the notation "laughter" appeared in transcripts of the court's oral arguments, Scalia was the leading instigator. Nothing illustrated the dynamic so well as his close friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with whom he was in frequent disagreement. The two served together on the D.C. Circuit and respected each other's intellect. Scalia and his wife, and Ginsburg and her husband, Martin, celebrated most New Year's Eves together. Ginsburg said no one made her laugh as much as Scalia did. "I love him. But sometimes I'd like to strangle him," she once said. Scalia once wrote in a law review article that legal views are "inevitably affected by moral and theological perceptions." After donning his black robe, he would insist that his religious faith and personal views did not determine the outcome of cases because his textualist, originalist approach insulated him from bias. He believed that judges should defer to elected officials on matters of social policy. But Scalia's faith was integral to his identity. He objected to Vatican II and drove out of his way to find churches that celebrated Mass in Latin. Justice Antonin Scalia, the longest-serving member of the current Supreme Court and an intellectual leader of the conservative legal movement, died Saturday, and his death set off an immediate political battle about the future of the court and its national role. Scalia, 79, was found dead at a... He was the court's most outspoken member on the subject of religion. He urged fellow intellectuals to proudly be "fools for Christ" and used an interview in 2013 to underscore his belief in the existence of the Devil, whose latest maneuver, he said, was "getting people not to believe in him or in God." Scalia wanted to lower the wall of separation between church and state, endorsing school prayer, nativity displays on public property and public money for religious schools. But he insisted that there was no such thing as a "Catholic ," and said his views were shaped by an understanding of the Constitution and a belief that a judge's role is limited. "Don't paint me as anti-gay or antiabortion or anything else," Scalia said at an appearance in 2015. "All I'm doing on the Supreme Court is opining about who should decide: Is it a matter left to the people, or is it a matter of my responsibility as a of the Supreme Court?" Scalia narrowly read individual rights and disdained policies designed to remedy discrimination against women and minorities. He was the lone dissent in a case challenging the state-run Virginia Military Institute's right to exclude female applicants. Scalia believed that discrimination should be judged on an individual basis rather than by treating minorities as an aggrieved group; in his view, policies meant to address discrimination against a group in effect discriminated against individuals. "I owe no man anything, nor he me, because of the blood that flows through our veins," he wrote in a 1979 essay. He was part of majorities that made it harder for workers to bring discrimination claims. He and O'Connor clashed when the court said the University of Michigan Law School could consider race as part of a comprehensive review of an applicant because of the benefits a racially diverse class would bring. In dissent, he wrote: "This is not, of course, an 'educational benefit' on which students will be graded on their Law School transcripts (Works and Plays Well with Others: B+) or tested by the bar examiners (Q: Describe in 500 words or less your cross-racial understanding.)" For much of the public, the perception of Scalia was formed in the polarized court's ruling in Bush v. Gore. Scalia wrote for himself when the court issued an emergency stay to stop the vote-counting in Florida in the 2000 presidential election. "The counting of votes that are of questionable legality does in my view threaten irreparable harm to (Bush), and to the country, by casting a cloud upon what he claims to be the legitimacy of his election," the wrote. To Gore supporters, that sounded like an attempt not to find out which candidate got the most votes but to protect the integrity of Bush's win. Moreover, the five-member majority based its ultimate ruling on an expansive reading of the equal protection clause, which in previous cases involving gays, blacks and women Scalia had preferred to read narrowly. The case was also a departure from his reluctance to endorse federal intrusion in state and local affairs. On gay rights, Scalia fought a losing battle. He warned in his 2003 dissent in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down a state sodomy law, that the court was paving the way for same-sex marriage. He was not any happier to see his prediction come true. When the court ruled 5 to 4 in 2015 that the Constitution forbade state laws that prohibited same-sex marriage, Scalia said the court had taken its most drastic step in overruling decisions made by the public. "A system of government that makes the People subordinate to a committee of nine unelected lawyers does not deserve to be called a democracy," he wrote in dissent. His great triumph on the court came in writing the majority decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Second Amendment case. Most lower courts had long interpreted a 1939 Supreme Court case, United States v. Miller, to mean that the Second Amendment guaranteed the right to bear arms only to members of state militias like the National Guard. Scalia's opinion made it unmistakable that the Constitution requires more than that. The Second Amendment, he said, "surely elevates above all other interests the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home." More than just a victory for gun rights, the case was significant for being fought on the originalist grounds that Scalia had long championed. He wrote 64 pages on why the authors of the Second Amendment meant to imply an individual right; Justice John Paul Stevens countered with 46 pages of history arguing only for the militia right. ||||| EL PASO - 
 
 UPDATE SUNDAY 4:39 P.M: The body of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has been transported from Sunset Funeral Homes in Northeast El Paso to an airport. 
 
 UPDATE SUNDAY 2 PM: The Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA that the death certificate will list a heart attack as the official cause of death for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. 
 
 
 
 UPDATE: U.S. Marshals, along with DPS officials are escorting the body of late Justice Antonin Scalia to Sunset Funeral Home. The funeral home was selected by his family, according to the funeral director there. He tells us Scalia will be there until tomorrow while they prepare and embalm the body. 
 
 ABC-7 has confirmed the body of the late Justice Antonin Scalia will be delivered to Sunset Funeral Home in northeast El Paso sometime early Sunday morning. It will then be prepared for the trip back to Washington. The body will be driven, not flown, from Marfa, Texas. 
 
 EL PASO -- An El Paso source close to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia tells ABC-7 that the 79-year-old died in his sleep last night after a day of quail hunting at Cibolo Creek Ranch outside of Marfa, Texas. 
 
 
 
 The Justice did not report feeling ill and retired to his room after dinner. The source, who was traveling with Scalia, told ABC-7 a priest was summoned to administer last rites. 
 
 El Paso Catholic Diocese Spokeswoman Elizabeth O'Hara tells ABC-7 Catholic Priest Mike Alcuino, in Presidio, was called to the ranch, where he administered Justice Scalia's last rites Saturday afternoon. 
 
 
 
 Scalia was the longest-serving Justice on the current Supreme Court at the time of his death. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, and was unanimously confirmed without a nomination fight to become the Court's first Italian-American justice. 
 
 Scalia and his wife, Maureen, had nine children. Born in Trenton, New Jersey March 11, 1936, he was less than a month from his eightieth birthday. 
 
 The issue of his replacement is virtually certain to a major political story during a presidential election year. ABC-7 managing editor Eric Huseby said, "Republican senators will be under enormous pressure from their donors and electoral base to refuse to confirm an appointment from President Obama that would tip the balance of the Court to a 5-4 majority of Democratic appointees. And the President will surely do all he can to make that position as politically unpalatable and costly as possible." 
 
 Tom Goldstein, who writes about the Supreme Court for SCOTUSBLOG.com doubted that confirmation before the election is possible. "Theoretically, that process could conclude before the election," he wrote Saturday. "But realistically, it cannot absent essentially a consensus nominee - and probably not even then, given the stakes. " 
 
 Scalia's legacy is enormous. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Scalia was one of the "handful of most influential Supreme Court justices in history." He was the Court's leading originalist, fiercely dedicated to the idea that the meaning of the words in the Constitution are fixed based on the framers' understanding at the time they were drafted, and not subject to reinterpretation in later times. 
 
 He argued passionately against the contemporary idea of a “living Constitution" that evolves and changes with the times. 
 
 “The Constitution is not an organism. It’s a legal text,” Scalia was quoted as saying in a recent Bloomberg Business article. “It means today what it meant when it was adopted.” 
 
 His wit, sarcasm and passion for intellectual battle were legendary as well. In his dissent against last year's landmark ruling affirming the right to same-sex marriage, he concluded a passage questioning the majority assertion that marriage promotes a freedom of intimacy by suggesting that marriage has historically tended to restrict options for intimacy, and suggesting that people, "Ask the nearest hippie." 
 
 Here is the complete text of a statement issued by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.: 
 
 "On behalf of the Court and retired Justices, I am saddened to report that our colleague Justice Antonin Scalia has passed away. He 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. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Maureen and his family." 
 
 Here is the complete text of a statement issued by Texas Governor Greg Abbott: 
 
 "Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patriot, and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution. His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans. We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers." ||||| U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead Saturday, CBS News has confirmed. A spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service said he appeared to die of natural causes. 
 
 According to the San Antonio News-Express, which was first to report his death, Scalia was found dead in his room at a West Texas resort. 
 
 Scalia, 79, was one of the staunchest conservative members of the court. He was nominated in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan and is the longest-serving member on the court. 
 
 He championed the philosophy of "orginalism," meaning he interprets the Constitution according to what he believes the original authors intended over 200 years ago. 
 
 In a 2008 interview with "60 Minutes," he told correspondent Lesley Stahl that he believes the Constitution is an "enduring" document he wants to defend. 
 
 Justice Scalia on 60 Minutes, part 1 
 
 "It's what did the words mean to the people who ratified the Bill of Rights or who ratified the Constitution," Scalia said. 
 
 "But you do admit that values change? We do adapt. We move," Stahl asked. 
 
 "That's fine," he answered. "And so do laws change. Because values change, legislatures abolish the death penalty, permit same-sex marriage if they want, abolish laws against homosexual conduct. That's how the change in a society occurs. Society doesn't change through a Constitution." 
 
 In a statement on behalf of the Supreme Court and retired Justices, Chief Justice John Roberts called Scalia, "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. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Maureen and his family," he added. 
 
 Justice Scalia on 60 Minutes, part 2 
 
 Scalia's replacement to the court would be President Obama's third nomination. He previously nominated Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. But CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford said it is unclear whether the Republican-held Senate will entertain a nomination from Mr. Obama or wait for a new president to be elected this November. 
 
 "It could be very unlikely that President Obama that will get that nomination," Crawford said. "This court could remain with eight justices until the next president takes office. I think that's very unclear what will happen." 
 
 "This vote will change the balance of the Supreme Court if a liberal is nominated," she added. 
 
 Mr. Obama was informed of Scalia's death Saturday afternoon. He and Michelle Obama extended their deepest condolences to Justice Scalia's family. 
 
 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, suggested that the Senate will not entertain a nomination from Mr. Obama. 
 
 "The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President," he said in a statement. 
 
 And Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, one of the 2016 presidential candidates, said the responsibility should fall to the next president. 
 
 Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement. — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 13, 2016 
 
 But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, argued that President Obama "can and should send the Senate a nominee right away." 
 
 "With so many important issues pending before the Supreme Court, the Senate has a responsibility to fill vacancies as soon as possible," Reid said in a statement Saturday. "It would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat. Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate's most essential Constitutional responsibilities." 
 
 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton added her own admonishment for those calling to keep Scalia's seat vacant. 
 
 "The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia's seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution," she said in a statement. "The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons." 
 
 Scalia, the son of Italian immigrants, was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in the Queens neighborhood of New York City. He attended at Georgetown University and Harvard Law School. 
 
 Former President Bush said in a statement that Scalia was a "towering figure and important judge on our Nation's highest court. He brought intellect, good judgment, and wit to the bench, and he will be missed by his colleagues and our country." 
 
 CBS News Justice Department Producer Paula Reid contributed to this story.
– Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead Saturday at a resort outside of Marfa, Texas, KVIA reports. According to the San Antonio Express- News, the 79-year-old appears to have died from natural causes. Scalia was the longest-serving justice currently on the Supreme Court, having been nominated by Ronald Reagan in 1986. In a statement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called Scalia “a man of God, a patriot, and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law." “We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law," CBS DFW quotes Abbott's statement as saying. Scalia spent Friday hunting quail at the Cibolo Creek Ranch and told friends before going to bed that he wasn't feeling well, reports CNN. His body was found in his room after he didn't show up for breakfast Saturday. In a statement, Chief Justice John Roberts called Scalia an "extraordinary individual" who was "admired and treasured by his colleagues." The Chicago Tribune notes that the conservative judge's "sharply worded dissents and caustic attacks on liberal notions were quoted widely, and they had an influence on a generation of young conservatives," the paper states. Scalia's death gives President Obama the chance to get his third nominee onto the Supreme Court, CBS News reports, though that might be tough in an election year.