Supreme Court may face extended period with 8 justices

WASHINGTON (AP) — Is eight enough?

The Supreme Court has managed to function effectively at less than its full nine-member strength for two extended periods in the past 50 years. The question now is whether the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in the middle of the court term and a polarizing presidential campaign will make it harder for the justices to get their work done.

Scalia's colleagues will mourn their longtime friend and fellow justice this week before resuming their work on a lineup of cases fraught with political implications. Their test will be whether they can reach decisions in cases involving abortion, labor unions, President Barack Obama's health care law, voting rights, immigration and other topics without reaching an inconclusive 4 to 4 vote.

Adding spice to the mix is the unusual makeup of the court, with four liberal-leaning Democratic appointees and four conservative-leaning Republican appointees.

One of the term's biggest cases will be argued March 2, when the justices weigh whether Texas' strict regulation of abortion clinics impinges on a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. Justice Scalia would have been a sure vote to sustain the regulations.

If Senate Republicans hold fast to their vow not to confirm anyone Obama nominates, then the Supreme Court will operate with eight justices not just for the rest of this term, but for most of the next one as well. High-court terms begin in October, and the 80 or so cases argued in the course of a term typically are decided by early summer.