Chief Justice John Roberts began Monday’s Supreme Court session — the first since Antonin Scalia’s death — with a tribute.
Roberts noted that the black drapery on Scalia’s chair and his spot on the bench “signifies a period of mourning the loss of our friend and colleague.” The seat will remain draped for roughly the next month.
It was a somber and emotional return to business for the court which is expected to hear 10 cases over the next two weeks, including a challenge to restrictions on Texas abortion clinics on March 2. Scalia’s unexpected death earlier this month brought the future of the court’s ideological makeup into sharp relief as a partisan showdown over his replacement on the bench looms.
Monday, however, was a day of reflection for the court.
“His love of knowledge drew him to academia,” and then into life in the law, Roberts said.
Roberts noted — to laughter in the courtroom — that Scalia “argued his first and only case before the Supreme Court in 1976. He prevailed, establishing a perfect record before this court.”
Scalia was the 103 justice on the court and wrote 292 majority opinions.
“He was also known on occasion to dissent,” Roberts joked.









