Sotomayor: Scalia like an annoying brother she misses

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor says the late Justice Antonin Scalia was like the brother she sometimes "wanted to kill" but loved and misses.

Sotomayor told a crowd at the University of Illinois College of Law on Monday that the politically conservative Scalia often said things "just to annoy me." But the liberal-leaning Sotomayor said that despite their disagreements, "on a personal level, he was very warm."

Scalia died Feb. 13 at age 79.

His death has left the court evenly divided between four liberal justices and four conservatives.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate have vowed not to confirm anyone President Barack Obama nominates to fill the open seat.

Sotomayor did not discuss the opening on the court and did not take questions from reporters.