Several intriguing scenarios could unfold after Tuesday's U.S. election to break the deadlock over filling a Supreme Court vacancy that has provoked a bitter nine-month standoff between President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans.
Obama nominated U.S. appeals court Judge Merrick Garland on March 16 to replace long-serving conservative justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13. The Republican-led Senate, in a move with little precedent, has refused to consider the nomination, saying the winner of the presidential election should make the pick.
If Republican Donald Trump wins, Garland's nomination would be dead. Trump has already put forth a list of conservative jurists as potential nominees.