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After nearly two decades on the United States Supreme Court, Associate Justice David Souter is announcing that he will be retiring from the bench. He is expected to serve until his replacement is nominated by Pres. Barack Obama and conformed by the Senate.
Justice Souter was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1990 by Pres. George H.W. Bush. Souter was initially cast as a conservative on the Court, but has moved toward the liberal side, voting most often with the liberal side of the present Court. Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer are generally thought of as the Court’s liberal wing.
The retirement of Justice Souter presents the Obama White House with its first big test of establishing the Obama agenda for the longterm. It is thought that this Presidency will have the opportunity to make two, if not three, appointments, given Justice Stevens age (88), and Justice Ginsberg’s health. Given that all three of these Justices make up the present liberal wing, an appointment of a Justice with similar ideology may well have little affect on the Robert’s Court. Additionally, given the fact that Souter was initially appointed for his conservatism, it is not out of the realm of possibility that at least one Obama appointee may disappoint his leftist base.
And it is that “base” that will now be Obama’s test. His first federal judge appointee is an avid ACORN fundraiser and supporter. His challenge for his appointee for Souter’s seat will be to satisfy his base while at the same time not appearing to be leaning too far off the centrist view. An initial list of possible appointees has probably already been prepared, particularly in light of Justice Ginsberg’s cancer surgery. But she has made it clear that she has no intentions of stepping down in the near future.
Whoever the appointee is, they will be in for a volatile confirmation process, so let’s hope the vetting is far better than it has been for the Cabinet positions.
Update: As of 1:45pm EST, there had been no official announcement from the Court, and Pres. Obama deferred any questions about Souter’s retirement. It had been noted in recent weeks that Souter was the only Justice who had not yet hired law clerks for the next session.
UPDATE: Pres. Obama interrupted his Press Secretary, ROBERT GLIBB, to announce that he had spoken with Justice Souter, and had accepted his resignation. Let the Judicial Games begin!
