The issue focused on Justice Antonin Scalia's judicial opinions that permitted courts to impose constitutional obligations without legislative authorization. But even before Justice Scalia died in February, legal scholars around the country began sounding alarms about what could happen if Justice Scalia were replaced by someone like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. (Thomas had agreed to replace Scalia after Scalia refused.) In July, Judicial Watch filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Thomas violated federal campaign finance laws when he accepted speaking fees from lawyers representing conservative groups opposed to Barack Obama