WASHINGTON -- The Texas county judge who decided no autopsy was needed following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has disclosed new details about Scalia's health in the days before he died.
Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara told The Associated Press on Monday that she spoke with Scalia's doctor on the day he was found dead in his room at a remote Texas ranch. She said the doctor told her that Scalia had a history of heart trouble, high blood pressure and was considered too weak to undergo surgery for a recent shoulder injury.
Those details are seemingly at odds with recollections of friends who described Scalia as his usual, happy self during the days leading up to his death. News that the 79-year-old justice was in declining health may come as a surprise to the public, but unlike presidents, the high court's members don't provide regular health disclosures.
In Washington, where flags flew at half-staff at the White House and Supreme Court, the political sniping soared over replacing Scalia on the high court, raising the prospect of a court short-handed for some time.
President Barack Obama has pledged a nomination "in due time." But the Senate's top Republican, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, thinks it should wait for the next president. McConnell and other Republicans argued that, as a lame duck, Obama should not fill the vacancy created by Scalia's death during an election year.
Guevara told the AP that she consulted with Scalia's personal physician and local and federal investigators, who said there were no signs of foul play, before concluding that he had died of natural causes. She said she spoke with a "Dr. Monahan" at some point after 8 p.m. on Saturday to discuss Scalia's health history.
Rear Adm. Brian P. Monahan is the attending physician for members of Congress and the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court spokeswoman could not immediately confirm that Monahan had examined Scalia, and Monahan did not return a phone message left for him at his Capitol office Monday.
Scalia's death was a shock to those at the Cibolo Creek Ranch where he died, as well as to the rest of the nation. The owner of the ranch near Marfa, about 190 miles (305 kilometres) southeast of El Paso, said Scalia seemed normal at dinner the night before he was found "in complete repose" in his room.
John Poindexter told reporters Scalia had arrived Friday and was part of a group of about 35 weekend guests. Scalia retired around 9 p.m., saying he wanted a long night's sleep, according to Poindexter.
Scalia's body was taken from Sunset Funeral Homes in El Paso and flown in a private plane to Virginia on Sunday night.
Guevara said Monahan told her Scalia had gone to the doctor's office on both Wednesday and Thursday before travelling to Texas, and had an MRI on his shoulder. She said Monahan told her surgery was needed, but that Scalia wasn't strong enough to endure surgery so rehabilitation was recommended instead.
Scalia apparently had mentioned to some people at the ranch he was not feeling well, according to Guevara. She said that information came from her conversations with Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez and a U.S. marshal she identified as Ken Roberts, both of whom had seen Scalia's body and determined there was no foul play.
State law allows an inquest to be performed by phone. Guevara certified Scalia's death by telephone about 1:52 p.m. Saturday. She had previously conducted two other death inquests by phone.
Bryan Garner, one of Scalia's close friends and the co-author of two books with the justice, said in an interview that Scalia seemed happy and jovial during recent trips to Hong Kong and Singapore in late January and early February. Garner said Scalia never mentioned anything about heart problems or other ailments during the trip.
"He did seem strong as ever," Garner said. "He was a very strong man physically."
During the trip, Scalia and Garner spent long days travelling, speaking to university audiences about their most recent book on interpreting the law, and meeting with public officials.
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Warren reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Sarah Rankin in Chicago and Betsy Blaney in Lubbock, Texas, contributed to this report.
