Law360, New York ( April 14, 2016, 10:53 PM EDT) -- The Appointments Clause of the Constitution vests the authority for the appointment of U.S. Supreme Court justices in the president, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. "The President ... shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... judges of the Supreme Court ..." U.S. Const. Art. II Sec. 2 cl. 2. President Barack Obama has nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland to fill Associate Justice Antonin Scalia's vacant seat. In terms of the Senate's advice and consent, however, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has maintained in statements commencing within hours of Scalia's death that he will not plan hearings or a vote on the nomination. Likewise, Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and other Senate Judiciary Committee members have adamantly refused to consider any nominee put forth by the president, citing the fact that this is an election year, as though the pendency of the vote is a codified exception to the Senate's responsibility to render advice and consent....