Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times printed an article titled "Obama losing chance to reshape judiciary," which began:
An early chance for the Obama administration to reshape the nation's judiciary -- and counter gains made in the federal courts by conservatives -- appears close to slipping away, due to a combination of White House inattention and Republican opposition.Here's something that will get the White House's attention. There's the possibility that the President will get the chance to make another Supreme Court appointment this year. Justice Paul Stevens may retire:
Justice John Paul Stevens, at 89 the Supreme Court's oldest member, says he will decide in the next month or so whether this term will be his last.The New Yorker article mentioned is Jeffrey Toobin's excellent profile on Stevens:
Stevens tells The New Yorker magazine that he definitely will retire in the next three years. His comments suggest that President Barack Obama, whom Stevens says he admires, will likely nominate his successor.
The leader of the court's liberals, Stevens is the second oldest justice in U.S. history and fourth longest-serving. He says that breaking those records doesn't interest him.
With the election of Barack Obama, the question of Stevens’s retirement has become more pressing. Even though Stevens was appointed by a Republican President, many assume that he would never willingly have turned his seat over to George W. Bush. I asked Stevens about his plans.Hopefully, Obama will appoint another liberal judge to replace Stevens (when Stevens retires.) But, the balance of the Court won't shift until Kennedy, Scalia or Thomas retires.
“Well, I still have my options open,” he said. “When I decided to just hire one clerk, three of my four clerks last year said they’d work for me next year if I wanted them to. So I have my options still. And then I’ll have to decide soon.” On March 8th, he told me that he would make up his mind in about a month.
