WASHINGTON – Justice David Souter is planning to retire at the end of the current court term. The vacancy will give President Obama his first chance to name a member of the high court and begin to shape its future direction.
Speculation about Souter’s plans began to swirl as the eight other justices were known to have hired the four law clerks who will work with them in the Supreme Court term that begins in October. Souter has been the lone holdout, hiring no one.
Several government sources said that Souter, 69, had signaled his intention to retire, NBC News correspondent Pete Williams reported. It was unclear whether Souter would retire at the end of the current term or as soon as a nomination can be made. Wednesday was the last day of oral arguments in the current court term.
For the last three years, at least, the identities of Souter’s clerks for the upcoming term have been known by now. Gossipy legal blogs actively seek out the names of the clerks — recent graduates of the nation’s top law schools who go on to lucrative careers and, sometimes, the Supreme Court.
Clerkships are highly sought and applicants have been known to interview with multiple justices in the hopes of landing a job at the high court. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer and John Paul Stevens were clerks when they were younger.
Clerks typically start work in July and spend the summer poring over appeals to decide which ones they think the court should hear. Justice Clarence Thomas recently said of new clerks that “the way that we work, there is no start up time. You hit the ground running and you’re ready to go.”
In 1990, Republican President George Bush nominated Souter for the position of Supreme Court justice. Little was known of his positions on issues at the forefront of the news, such as abortion, and it was hoped by conservatives that his literal interpretations of the Constitution would work in their favor. However, Souter’s interpretations of the Constitution were more liberal than the Republican Party had hoped.
(Source: NBC / MSNBC / NPR)
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3 Responses
This will not change the makeup of the Supreme Court, because it is unlikely that President Obama will find anyone more liberal than Justice Souter.
#1 – actually, he might find someone more liberal, but that won’t affect many actual cases – the interesting thing to look for is judicial philosophy rather than liberal-conservative bias, as that sometimes “throws” a curve to the politicians. Judges are quite unpredictable (Earl Warren and Hugo Black, being excellent examples).
Also, some have mentioned that Obama might appoint a politicians (the governors of Michigan and Massachusetts were mentioned), which would create vacancies that would be contestable by the Republicans who will be looking for a comeback next year.
ABC. Anyone But Clinton.