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May 01, 2009
Supreme Court Justice David Souter to Retire
Souter to Retire From Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice David Souter has reportedly decided to retire from the Supreme Court, a move that will provide President Barack Obama his first opportunity to nominate someone to the nation's highest court.
The White House has been told that Souter will retire in June, when the court finishes its work for the summer, a source familiar with his plans said Thursday night. He almost certainly would remain on the bench until a successor is confirmed.
Souter, 69, is widely regarded as one of the most liberal members of the bench. As such, his departure would not likely lead to a significant change in the close idealogical split that currently defines the Court.
A number of Souter's former law clerks reached late Thursday night were unaware of the news and said they had no advance knowledge of Souter's departure. "A tremendous loss," says Georgetown University law professor Rebecca Tushnet who clerked for Souter a decade ago.
Just a few weeks ago at a speech in Washington, Souter described his annual ritual of preparing for the upcoming Supreme Court term as "a lobotomy of the mind." That comment suggesting the Court's business was intellectually listless combined with the fact that he had yet to hire clerks for the upcoming fall term prompted much speculation that he would step down.
Souter's presence in the current liberal block of the Court is a long-standing matter of frustration for conservatives who feel his appointment in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush — a Republican — was a missed opportunity.
Wild Thing's comment.......
And so it begins.... with the Judges.
Can we hope the replacement can be delayed for 3 1/2 years until Obama is voted out of office ???
Just a thought..... yes I know, that won't happen.
I could say it will be a very liberal Judge replaced by another very liberal Judge. Except for one thing, if we
use the ruler on what Obama would do, the Judge Obama will pick will be off the charts a very liberal Judge.
He has not picked one person yet for anything that is not a communist, nut case that wants to destroy our country.
Soros will let him know who to pick probably.
Posted by Wild Thing at May 1, 2009 06:47 AM
Comments
Interesting he's leaving just as Filibuster proof Senate is within grasp of the Democrats.
Posted by: BobF at May 1, 2009 09:54 AM
The court is safe as long as we keep the balance that we have right now. If one of our guys decides to retire then we are in real trouble.
Posted by: Mark at May 1, 2009 11:19 AM
Mark is right, unless Kennedy decides to move left. Ginsburg should be the next to go. Shit seems like she has been dead for a while anyway, but somebody just raises her left hand when they vote.
Posted by: TomR at May 1, 2009 11:44 AM
The potential replacements being bantered are much farther to the left than Ginsburg. To think that Bush was taken to the woodshed for cronyism in his selections and that this raghead gets a pass when he makes his selections, it's their version of bipartisanship under one party rule. The only use for the Constitution by the Democrats has been a vehicle to hide behind as they destroy the very fabric of it's purpose.
Posted by: Jack at May 1, 2009 02:16 PM
