Obama's Supreme Court Pick

In the wake of reports of Supreme Court Justice David Souter's planned resignation, all eyes turn to President Obama.

According to NPR's Nina Totenberg, Obama intends to pick a woman:

Souter's retirement would give President Obama his first appointment to the high court, and most observers expect that he will appoint a woman.

Last November, Salon examined ten candidates for Obama's Supreme Court:

Barack Obama might have as much power to shape a new court as Reagan. Like Reagan, Obama could appoint as many as three justices before Inauguration Day 2013. John Paul Stevens, 88, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75, are of retirement age, and Ginsburg is a colon cancer survivor. David Souter, 69, has reportedly expressed an interest in returning to his home in New Hampshire. (Kennedy, who has twice had minor heart procedures, is 72, as is Scalia.)

So will an Obama presidency usher in a new liberal era on the court? The short answer: probably not (and not just because the president-elect's apparent choice for attorney general, Eric Holder, is one more sign that he does not fear the taint of Clintonism). Since the justices most likely to retire are from the court's liberal wing, Obama will have less of an opportunity to tilt the court's ideological orientation. Currently, the court has a rough balance of power, with four conservative justices, four liberal and a swing vote in Justice Kennedy.

Comments

[Carolab]

05:30 AM on 05/01/2009

Wood and Kagan seem okay, though both Clintonite­s.

[Texas4Obama]

03:38 AM on 05/01/2009

Salon dot com as an article up titled
Ten picks for Obama's Supreme Court
be sure not to miss page two.

[dubster]

02:59 AM on 05/01/2009

What the court needs is a little diversity!­! My choices:

1)Ruben Castillo (born 1954) - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois;
2)Carlos R. Moreno (born 1948) - Associate Justice, California Supreme Court;
3)Ken Salazar (born 1955), Secretary of the Interior, former Senator from Colorado, former Colorado Attorney General;
4) Harold Hongju Koh (born 1954), dean of Yale Law School

[Texas4Obama]

03:04 AM on 05/01/2009

You say diversity and your list has only MEN.

[eden4barack08]

06:25 AM on 05/01/2009

Yes, but they're Hispanic or Asian, that's diversity too.

[dubster]

08:16 PM on 05/02/2009

Ostensibly you couldn't infer that they're men of Mexican and Korean decent. Or did you not glean that? To be sure, there have been two women on the court before (one currently sits on there), however we have NEVER, NEVER had a single Mexican-Am­erican/Lat­ino OR ASIAN Justice. A little Ironic given that Hispanics are the Largest minority group in America but never been represente­d on the court. Of course you should have the most qualified and experience­d but that doesn't mean the most qualified or experience­d are OLD, WHITE, and PRIVILEGED MEN. The court needs to have someone that can view thorny issues with of course a high caliber legal acumen but also offer a perspectiv­e from the minority view. This could never be achieved with a white man.

Moreover, I'm not against having more women on the court at all, so don't get me wrong. But like I was saying two women have at least served on the court, but never a Hispanic or Asian. I would love to have more women on the court and I guarantee we will see in increase. But I want a Latino on there now to serve as a role model but more importantl­y to share a unique perspectiv­e that a white male could not.

[PoliticalRockChick]

02:29 AM on 05/01/2009

I just wrote the President to pick a Black Hispanic Gay man or woman. Hopefully the letter gets to him.

[cseper]

01:39 AM on 05/01/2009

I just hope it's someone young and NOT another tribe member.

[Texas4Obama]

01:29 AM on 05/01/2009

I know that Obama is thrilled to be president but after a few more years of having to deal with things that he doesn't have a passion for such as the banks, the auto industry, pandemics, etc. I wonder if he will be wishing he was a Supreme Court Justice instead. His passion lies in the law and Constituti­onal Law. I think it would be wonderful since he is so young that after he is out of office that the next president would appoint him to the Supreme Court. Now wouldn't that be something!

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

01:06 AM on 05/01/2009

Why couldn't it be Antonin "The Constituti­on is simply a framework" Scalia or Clarence "I hate you hate you HATE ALL OF YOU" Thomas? At the rate their going the only way they're going to leave the Supreme Court is on a stretcher with a flatline and no vital signs.

[wingsabre]

12:41 AM on 05/01/2009

I get the feeling that it's going to be Valerie Jarratt.

[unhhockey]

12:43 AM on 05/01/2009

How about Valerie Plame?

[madHenry]

12:44 AM on 05/01/2009

yeah, whatever.

[unhhockey]

12:41 AM on 05/01/2009

Where have all the tr0//s gone?

[madHenry]

12:38 AM on 05/01/2009

My God! It's kind of fun thinking about the possibilit­ies for this appointmen­t. But how much more will President Obama have added to his plate this year?

[unhhockey]

12:39 AM on 05/01/2009

Hopefully several more Supreme Court appointmen­ts.

[t iessa]

07:26 AM on 05/01/2009

And hopefully some that will actually change the make up of the court.

[Texas4Obama]

12:39 AM on 05/01/2009

I betcha that President Obama already has a short list. He probably had one in his mind before he became president - him being a Constituti­onal Law Professor, ya know.

[unhhockey]

12:34 AM on 05/01/2009

Let's hope that Papa Scalia continues a diet heavy on pizza and fettuccine alfredo.

[cliffstep]

12:35 AM on 05/01/2009

And mints. Oh! Zey are wafer - thin!

[madHenry]

12:39 AM on 05/01/2009

just one more little mint....

[Texas4Obama]

12:37 AM on 05/01/2009

Now now .. be nice, I'm Italian-Am­erican too ;)

[unhhockey]

12:39 AM on 05/01/2009

Sorry :-)

[nana4g]

09:43 AM on 05/01/2009

Yes, but even among us Italians, loyalty can only go so far!!

[Texas4Obama]

12:34 AM on 05/01/2009

I believe that the best person should get the job, but I am hoping it will be a woman only because Ginsberg said it is a bit lonely there now being the only woman.
Obama might just shock us and appoint a 'white male' - one of the Constituti­onal law professors that he knows well. Guess we will have to wait. The media is going to go nuts until there is an announceme­nt.

[bella]

12:28 AM on 05/01/2009

How about a Native American

[madHenry]

12:31 AM on 05/01/2009

That would be a beautiful thing. But is there a Native American who has the legal chops?

[dubster]

01:00 AM on 05/01/2009

What's that supposed to mean? That a Native American doesn't have the legal acumen or a Ivy League Law background with a strong track record of liberal/mo­derate decisions as a judge to scrutinize­? So typical.

[Texas4Obama]

12:24 AM on 05/01/2009

Even though a republican president appointed Souter - - Souter votes most of the time with the liberal Justices. Too bad it isn't one of the conservati­ve Justices that is retiring :(

[madHenry]

12:25 AM on 05/01/2009

Exactly. Like I said, losing Souter is not necessaril­y a gift.

[Texas4Obama]

12:29 AM on 05/01/2009

The only good thing might be that President Obama will appointed a young healthy person that will be around for a very long time.
I think that during Obama's eight years he will have a chance to appoint another one or two more before he leaves office.

[neumann]

12:22 AM on 05/01/2009

Madame Justice Ru Paul!

[madHenry]

12:26 AM on 05/01/2009

Now THAT would be fun. Can you see him.... er, her...gett­ing all up in Scalia's grill? Oh man, I would pay good money to see that.

[Hondu]

12:27 AM on 05/01/2009

How about Rachel Madow or Hillary?

[Texas4Obama]

12:43 AM on 05/01/2009

Hillary would make a good Justice but we need to keep her where she is for now.

[reversed]

01:14 AM on 05/01/2009

... or Judge Judy :p