NPR is reporting that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire. Souter is 69 years old. The Harvard College and Harvard Law Alumnus was appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. At the time, he was considered to be another reliably conservative vote on the court. In reality, he has ended up siding more often with the liberal justices on the bench- like Ford appointee John Paul Stevens and Clinton appointees Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Bryer- than he has with conservative jurists like William Rehnquist, Clarence Thomas, and Antonin Scalia.
President Obama will now be tasked with finding a replacement. It is largely assumed that he will select a woman for the post. Leading candidates for the job will include Elena Kagan- the former Dean of Harvard Law School and current United States Soliciter General- and federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Souter's retirement would come as somewhat of a surprise. Easrly assumptions had been that if a Supreme Court Justice were to retire in Obama's first term, it would more likely be either Justice Stevens (who is 89 years of age), or Justice Ginsburg, who is 76. At just 69 years of age, Souter is the fourth youngest member of the nine-judge panel. Nonetheless, the former New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice has served for almost 20 years on the Court, and is looking to put D.C. behind him.
If Souter indeed retires, it likely means that neither Ginsburg nor Stevens will retire in the immediate future. Justices are reluctant to create two vacancies at the same time, as pushing a single nomination through the Senate confirmation process can be a hefty task.
The retirement couldn't have come at a better time for Barack Obama, whose party is just one vote shy of a filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate after longtime Republican Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched tracks to become a Democrat earlier in the week. If Minnesota Senator-elect Al Franken is indeed seated as expected within the next few weeks, the confirmation process for Souter's replacement could be smooth sailing.
Check back with EyesOnObama.com for more coverage of the Souter retirement.
