Justice Antonin Scalia lies in repose at US Supreme Court

WASHINGTON: The body of justice Antonin Scalia was transferred Friday to the US Supreme Court, where President Barack Obama and hundreds of officials paid tribute to the conservative icon as he lies in repose.

Scalia’s flag-draped casket was installed at 9.30am (1430 GMT) in the Supreme Court’s Great Hall, after court police ceremoniously carried it up the building’s iconic steps.

Obama was among the thousands of people who are expected to pay their respect to the 79-year-old justice, who died of an apparent heart attack.

The president and First Lady Michelle Obama, dressed in black, entered the Great Hall of the Supreme Court and hands clasped paid their respects by the casket.

They then stood for a moment in front of a portrait of Scalia, flanked by floral arrangements of red, white and blue, with soft chandelier light bathing the marble room.

The casket rests on the Lincoln Catafalque, which was loaned to the court by Congress for the ceremony.

Scalia’s death Saturday in Texas plunged the Supreme Court into uncertainty, leaving what had been a conservativedominated body evenly divided in a year of blockbuster cases -- on abortion, affirmative action, immigration and President Barack Obama’s health care law.

It also set off an epic electionyear battle over Scalia’s successor, whose appointment could tip the body to a liberal majority with the potential to reshape American life far into the future. — AFP