Stevens Retirement Would Signal Shift In Court Politics

True/Slant:

In the legal gossip world, (hell, even in the real world), a lot is currently being made of the fact that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has only hired one law clerk so far this term. In SCOTUS speak, this kind of dalliance in hiring help is often interpreted as an indication of probable retirement. Not that this was unexpected -- Stevens is 89 years old, which makes him the second oldest justice in history.

A friend reminds me that for a long time, there was a tradition that, when possible, a Supreme Court Justice would retire when the current President was of the same party as the President who nominated you. That was the case even when your judicial philosophy might have "drifted" from where it once was.

Read the whole story: True/Slant

Comments

[lightningbolt]

If Stevens is going to retire, he might as well do it now while we have a democrat in office. We cannot afford to have another right wing nut in the court.

[neocon666]

This is the SCOTUS replacement the republicans are really afraid of.

[DeaconJoey]

Obama. Nominate an extremely liberal Asian American, or a somewhat left-moderate gay White American.

That would probably cause a few strokes and heart attacks among those on the Right.

[superstition]

At this point, I'm expecting someone like W. Scott Simpson.

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/mormon-bush-holdover-filed-anti-gay.html

[HLL]

Thank you, Justice Stevens, for your excellent service to this country.

I hope President Obama will place two more female Supremes on that male-dominated court: May one be an extremely Liberal African-American woman and the other a moderately Liberal Asian American woman - then America will be represented more evenly!!!!!! Hmmmmmmm, that would make 4 women on the court with Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor. Oh yeah!

[noaxe397]

I only hope my mind is as sharp as Justice Stevens's when I'm 89 years old. I know being a SCOTUS is probably not physically demanding, but you do have to get up in the morning and go to work, too.

[Okieborn]

Great News !!
Maybe we as Americans and 2nd class citizens, will finally get some representation !!

[horselee]

I hope he waits until we have a liberal President.

[superstition]

When Stevens goes, the lid will be closed on the gay rights struggle as it relates to the judiciary and the 14th Amendment will reek of formaldehyde.

[S1m0n]

It's true that Sandra Day O'Connor retired under a Republican president, but she *did* hold out until after he was reelected to a second term, despite the fact that her husband had been in very poor health for some time. She announced her retirement in July 2005, and because of the delay with Roberts' appointment, didn't actually leave the court until January of the following year.

[headtrip honey]

Am I the only one who thinks that the headline didn't really represent what the story was about at all?

Interesting article...­misleading headline.

[mamapower]

honey, you ain't alone.

[mdemploi]

Reader's comment: 'dalliance' is a poor choice of words.
Nothing amorous or casual or frivolous about the possible retirement of an AJSCOTUS.
The decision to hire one clerk rather than four is never made lightly or without deliberation.

[PlaceboStudman]

It's going to be another 20-50 years at this rate until we see a real liberal or progressive SCOTUS. The political climate is just too grounded like tree roots in our archaic Judeo-christian foundations to actually consider someone who knows how to look forward at how much farther we have to go as a society, rather than continue to look back and be proud of how far we've supposedly come

[Anym]

We need our own liberal Scalia.

and obama keeps appointing center right judges.

[jingles32]

"Keeps appointing?" Just how many has he appointed then? Did I miss something? And I would hardly describe Sotomayor as right of anything (a good thing).

[Rand]

She IS somewhat to the right of Souter based on her decisions

[Anym]

The s was a mistake but she is conservative(pro) in her rulings dealing with industry.

[HalfBakedSushi]

Keeps? He's only nominated the one.

But I do agree. We need a good, solid bleeding heart liberal progressive judge who isn't afraid to be branded as such; is, in fact, proud of it.

[Okieborn]

President Obama seems to have a definate plan, and it seems to be to fill the court with conservatives !!!!

[copperbrown]

in the begining , when it was written, (justices serve for life, )
people then just did not live as along as they do today.

Much has changed since the law was written

Many rules and laws have been revised to reflect this fact.

This one law is long past due for revision.

One GOOD reason more liberals are needed ..... the court needs balance

anyone object to this logic?