BREAKING NEWS: David Souter To Retire

Thank goodness! Now we can replace that screaming liberal.

With another one.

I am not a big fan of Souter's legal reasoning and find it very suspect, but I was a big fan of the moderate role he played on the court, minus his presence, I have to wonder if a new balance can be struck given the nature of the other 8 judges who are all more partisan. I have little confidence in the Obama administration's willingness to appoint a moderate justice, given its history thus far and his views on the courts. What I expect is a 5-4 Liberal majority running rough shod over the rule of law engaging in much reinterpretation and legislating from the bench, rather than ruling to uphold the laws as written by legislative authorities.

Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised, like by Reagan's appointment of moderate Sandra Day O'Connor. I'm crossing my fingers but have little hope associated with this change.

I was going to post on this but you beat me to it.

Don't be so sure he's retiring though, he has been known to take a while to pick his clerks.

If he does retire, Justice Sonia Sotomayor or Justice Deval Patrick are high contenders.

Patrick, I literally jumped up from the sofa and ran to the computer when Rachel Maddow announced it, lol. And I didn't have far to run, either. :-)

As it was, I didn't have all the details yet and it hadn't been officially confirmed, but I see in the time I just spent scooping the cat litter, it has been. Thank you to whoever put in the photo and links (Joe?).

This will not fundamentally change the character of the court. He could best be described as the most conservative of the liberal wing, or the most independent of the liberal wing if you wish, but the primary split of 4 conservative Justices, 4 liberal Justices, and Kennedy in the middle (decidedly more conservative than liberal, but still a wild-card at times).

That is of course a gross simplification of the voting patterns of the Justices, for whom statical analysis of their voting bloc patterns actually contains some real surprises:

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads...

Well, Souter's timing at least suggests that he was one of those Justices talked about during the election campaign...who were holding on until a Democrat could win the White House, and appoint their replacement.

It is certainly unusual that a President gets a Supreme Court pick within a few months of assuming office. Clinton and Bush only got 2 picks each in 8 years.

If Ginsberg or Stevens leave soon as well...as has widely been speculated...Obama has the potential to reshape the liberal wing of the Court.

Also, the Democrats getting 60 votes in the Senate becomes a more important question than ever.

"...most observers expect that he [Obama] will appoint a woman."

Harriet Miers.

:)

It appears Obama may have the chance to nominate 3 judges by the time it's over, but that will merely allow him to refresh the liberal side of the court, not change the balance. It will still remain 4 / 4 / 1. Nothing philosophically changes until Kennedy retires.

For that reason, the primary characteristic a new judge needs is the ability to persuade. Once again, a 'moderate' holds the real power in the middle.

HemmD, "Once again, a 'moderate' holds the real power in the middle."

Excellent point!