It seems to be ambiguous as to who will get to name his successor. Is there any precedents for this? If it's not Obama, then this election just got a whole lot more interesting.
From a friend Longest SCOTUS confirmation process from nomination to resolution was Brandeis at 125 days Obama has 342 days left in office
It's complicated.Leaving a seat open indefinitely may not seem like a big deal. After all, justices recuse themselves from time to time, and the Constitution doesn’t say anything about needing nine. But partisans should take note: Thanks to a wealth of recent Democratic appointments on the lower courts, letting the Supreme Court go down to eight justices would favor liberals. Conservatives wouldn’t like the regime of liberal rulings that would govern in most of the nation without Supreme Court oversight. And the prospect of liberal dominance may actually stiffen the spine of the historically more accommodating Senate Democrats.
You're right. And as if this election cycle needed help being interesting.If it's not Obama, then this election just got a whole lot more interesting.