A president's term lasts for four years - the fact that Scalia's death brought about a vacancy in the Court in President Obama's last year does not make his responsibility to nominate a new justice any less valid than if it had occurred in his first year. Recent rulings (Zubik v. Burwell, for example) prove that the Court needs a ninth justice to properly function, and at the very least Merrick Garland deserves a vote.