Souter retires from the Supreme Court

[we vs us]

Justice David Souter is set to retire after this session ends in June. 

I'm a little surprised at this announcement.  I thought sure that one of the older liberals (Stevens or Ginsburg) would be the first to get out, followed possibly by Kennedy or Breyer.  Ginsburg especially seemed likely since her recent (ongoing?) bout with cancer. 

Of course, it doesn't rule out further retirements by any means, and I still think you're going to see at least one or two more in the next 4 years, especially as Democrats approach (and maybe achieve) a supermajority.

[rwarn17588]

It's really not a surprise. SCOTUS watchers had noted that Souter didn't like living in D.C., and he had made a lot of not-veiled hints in the past couple of years that he'd be retiring and going back to his native New Hampshire, regardless of who was elected president in 2008.

I have no strong opinion of him either way. He was appointed by a moderate president (Bush I). So Souter turned out to be a moderate guy. Moderates are good things, in my book.

[Conan71]

Rwarn, you seem to be in a minority calling Souter a "moderate".  If anything Democrats should worry that the next SCOTUS pick might be to the right of Souter.

[rwarn17588]

Rwarn, you seem to be in a minority calling Souter a "moderate".  If anything Democrats should worry that the next SCOTUS pick might be to the right of Souter.

Perhaps.

But it also pays to remember that you're never really sure what a Supreme Court justice is going to do once he or she is actually there. We've had some Republican appointees that turned out to be quite liberal.

Well, "quite liberal" compared to the nuttiness that has generally afflicted the Republican Party in the past decade or so.

[RecycleMichael]

Souter is a good example of that not knowing. He was appointed by Bush1 after urging from John Sununu. He then began voting with the liberals on most issues.

I think Obama will appoint Kathleen Sullivan, a constitutional law professor at Stanford.

[Conan71]

Souter's predecessor, picked by Ike, turned out to be quite liberal as well.

[OpenYourEyesTulsa]

Obama will probably find the most liberal person he can and they may turn out to be conservative.  You never know.

I hope he picks someone that is highly experienced and fair.  Someone that does not let their personal opinions cloud their view of what the Constitution really states.

[Gaspar]

Where on earth is President Obama going to find a liberal judge from Chicago with tax problems to replace him?

[Ed W]

"Supreme Court Justice Hilary Clinton"

We could power a couple of cities from all the hot air coming from Limbaugh alone!  Think of it as the responsible choice regarding energy independence.  We wouldn't have to drill.  We wouldn't need solar or nuke-u-ler power.  We'd get megawatts from Limbaugh!  He might even sign on out of patriotism.

Imagine that.

[FOTD]

Obama's Pick to Replace Souter...Payback Time?!

[FOTD]

Nell Scovell, Vanity Fair, May 1, 2009

Minutes after NPR reported that Justice David Souter plans to step down from the Supreme Court, New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof updated his Facebook status to ponder a replacement: "I think Obama just might appoint Elena Kagan, his new solicitor-general and the former Harvard Law School dean. She's young, smart, understands politics as well as law. Who would you like to see him appoint?"

Thanks for asking, Nick. I'd like to see President Obama appoint Brandeis University law professor Anita Hill. She's reasonably young, smart, and—after her ordeal testifying at Clarence Thomas's 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearing—she certainly understands politics as well as law.

I'll never forget Hill's thoughtful answers as Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) tried to pick apart her testimony, failing to grasp the most rudimentary aspects of sexual harassment in the workplace. He challenged Hill's every statement, every motive. Why didn't she quit her job? Why didn't she tell someone? Calmly, Hill tried to explain something Specter has never endured—power politics from the unempowered side. I was screaming at my television set, but she never raised her voice and never showed her anger.

In contrast, Thomas spewed ad hominem attacks when he took the mic. "This is a circus. It's a national disgrace," he barked at the Judiciary Committee. "And from my standpoint, as a black American, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree."

Race card well played, Justice Thomas. He was confirmed by the narrowest margin ever: 52–48.