Supreme Court tradition dictates that when a justice passes away, his or her bench chair and the bench in front of it are draped in black wool crepe in memoriam. Today, the Supreme Court of The United States mourned the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, who served nearly 30 years on the Court before his death at age 79 on Saturday.  

Justice Scalia’s death has set off a fierce political battle in Congress over whether Obama should nominate a new justice at the end of his final term, and whether Congress will approve that nomination.