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US Supreme Court opens without Jewish justices

3 justices skip starting session due to Rosh Hashanah, missing all of 5 minutes of action

By AP 6 October 2016, 10:05 am

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, January 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court opened an unusual term on Monday with a depleted bench, just five of its nine seats filled.

The court’s three Jewish justices — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan — were absent on the court’s opening day, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

Because of the holiday, the court diverged from its usual practice of hearing cases then.

The court has been down a justice since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, and with political gridlock over how to replace him, the court’s future awaits the results of the November 8 presidential election.

President Barack Obama has nominated Judge Merrick Garland, who would be the fourth Jewish justice on the bench, but Senate Republicans have refused to act, saying the next president should fill the Scalia seat.

Monday was the first time in 25 years the court has been at less than full strength at the start of a term, which occurs on the first Monday in October as prescribed by federal law.

The opening session lasted only about five minutes and consisted largely of admitting new attorneys to the Supreme Court bar. Also Monday, the court rejected hundreds of appeals that accumulated over its long summer recess.