Battle brews over Trump’s pick for high court

President Trump is to announce his choice for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court, which will restore its conservative majority. But Democrats have vowed to block the nomination after the Republican-led Senate refused to consider Obama’s nominee last year


Supreme Court judges have lifetime tenure. They give final ruling on issues such as
gun laws, abortion and civil rights

Seat on court has been vacant since death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in Feb 2016

LIBERAL LEANING  CONSERVATIVE LEANING
Stephen Breyer, 78
Sonia Sotomayor, 62
Elena Kagan, 56
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83

Anthony Kennedy, 80
Samuel Alito, 66
Clarence Thomas, 68
John Roberts, 61 Chief Justice


SUPREME COURT SHORTLIST
Neil Gorsuch, 49
Strong advocate for “originalism” – idea that Constitution should be strictly interpreted as Founding Fathers would have done, more than 200 years ago

Thomas Hardiman, 51 Supported gun rights and police powers, including case in which he sided with jails seeking to strip-search all inmates arrested for even minor offences

William Pryor, 54
Has criticised Supreme Court’s 1973 landmark ruling making abortion legal across U.S., as “worst abomination in the history of constitutional law”

Source: U.S. Supreme Court
Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images