Justice Souter Plans to Retire from the Supreme Court
By Heather Friday May 01, 2009 4:30am
John Amato:
Things got a whole lot more interesting for President Obama. Justice David Souter is retiring from the bench and the president will be able to pick a true progressive judge to fill the vacancy in the coming months. I doubt he wanted to tackle this topic so soon with everything else on his plate, but that's the hand he was dealt and I look forward to being involved heavily in the process. I can only imagine what will come out of the mouths of the teabaggers and FOX News. Brace yourself, this is going to get ugly on their side very quickly. I hope to have our website released soon that will be dedicated to the Supreme Court. It's already designed and I'm lining up the troops as we speak.
From The Rachel Maddow Show April 30, 2009. Justice David Souter plans to retire from the Supreme Court. From the MSNBC press release:
NBC: Souter to retire from Supreme Court
His retirement would give Obama his first chance to nominate a justiceWASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice David Souter plans to retire, sources told NBC News Thursday night.
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.
A retirement by Souter, 69, would give President Barack Obama his first chance to nominate a justice and the next few months would bring Senate confirmation hearings.
Several government sources said that Souter 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."
Other candidates for retirement
The other candidates for retirement are Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 76, and Stevens, 89, although neither has betrayed any intention of leaving. Ginsburg, who is undergoing chemotherapy following surgery for pancreatic cancer in February, said she wants to serve into her 80s.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.
According to Biography Resource Center Online, during the Casey v. Planned Parenthood case, Souter voted to uphold the Roe v. Wade decision governing a woman's right to an abortion and also voted to prohibit prayer at high school graduation ceremonies in Lee v. Weisman.
In defense of his abortion stance, Souter wrote that, as a nation, we have come to rely on the "availability of abortion" and to overturn Roe v.Wade would be "a surrender to political pressure ... so to overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to re-examine a watershed decision would subvert the Court's legitimacy beyond any serious question."
Since that time he consistently voted on the more liberal sides of issues.
Souter attended Harvard University, graduating Phi Betta Kappa in 1961 with a major in philosophy. Before returning to Harvard to attend law school, Souter won a Rhodes Scholarship to Magdalen College at Oxford.
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We need two more women on the court. Make them strong so they can hold down Scalia while Ruth Bader dope slaps him.
what we really need is a couple of more progressive judges, no matter if they were men or women
we need Scalia and Justice Harassment to retire.
What about poor Harriet Miers? We had a chance to get another woman on the supreme court, but we rejected Bush's first choice.
Thank Freakin God.
This will be as entertaining as the election. The right wing nutcases will be popping veins. O'Mousedick will have no idea where he is and Hannity will be trying to get the Panama Canal back while spewing Bill Cunningham's talking points (That guy is a true nut).
So who do you think will be nominated? Hillary?
It'd be so much fun to watch the heads of the Wingnuttia explode in sequence if she were the nominee.
Aside from that, she's not a bad choice, if she can avoid a filibuster....
She has absolutely no judicial background, which would probably make her somewhat less than qualified to be a Supreme Court judge.
A Supreme Court Justice does not have to be an attorney or have any judicial experience at all. Nor any political experience. This was supposed to make representation of all people possible, among other things, and to bring the best and the brightest minds, regardless of background, to the Court. Went kind of off course with the Bushes, didn't it? Besides that, Hillary is great right where she is now.
She's also bought and paid for, that's why she didn't win when the fix was already in for her. She'd vote with the 1%. I certainly don't want any Beltway Insiders at all. Clarence Thomas is an embarrassment to the US.
Bill
... you know that whole perjury thing during the fun and games that were the late 90s witch hunt.
It must be a sad day when one gets disbarred from lying about a blow job.
Bill Clinton disbarred...John Yoo teaching law school.
What a great country.
...Gonzales roaming free
If John Edwards had kept it in his pants I would say he'll be the strongest shoo-in.
But who knows.
From what I have read, she is the better deal... and a real progressive. Alas, I don't know how Elisabeth Edwards's health is holding these days.
...with a nasty disposition who will completely disagree with Justice Scalia and his cabana boy Clarence.
What other kind is there?
Too many women here who are good fighters :)
Ysb, don't make me come over there!
Think about Hillary. One could not attribute any spine to that one. Just a suck-up corporatist. A WHORE.
an extremely progressive woman with a uncrossable disposition. No Beltway Insiders PLEEEEZZZZZ....
an extremely progressive woman with a uncrossable disposition. No Beltway Insiders PLEEEEZZZZZ....
...not work for them. Obama will nominate someone to pacify the all mighty Conservatives...people who didn't and will never vote for him. Makes a lot of sense.
Yes, a woman. Men are too childish and too concerned about swagger and dick size. It's men that have penis envy: worried someone else's is bigger. But I still like them as sex objects. :-)
but I think the right wingers are delighted with this news. This is an opportunity for Obama to cave in to their demands and I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Disappointed maybe, but not surprised.
.... Justice Glenn Beck? Sarah Palin? Ted Nugent? Michele Bachmann? Michelle Malkin?
Justice Bill O'Reilly!
And you need to stay out of right wing world...they are fucking losers you know.
Nagahapun...
Kennedy is a clone of GOPuke Ed Meese.
This is the first REAL test of his cojones...
How about Mario Cuomo. Brilliant, smart, tough, experienced, and probably too smart to accept. Oh, well.
AGE LIMITS!!!!! Term Limits.!!! @the story YAY! Wonder if Obama is gonna go with a center right candidate or a center left. Prolly a full on right wing conservative fresh out of Collage from the Evanjellokill school of Hate. A young 20 year old so they can serve for 60 + years.
"I can only imagine what will come out of the mouths of the teabaggers"
The same thing that goes in right?
When I heard this, this morning, my first thought was, Thank goodness we elected President Obama. Just imagine how you would be feeling this morning if the election had gone the other way.
... be looking at something like Justice Limbaugh.
Or Palin's husband (I've already forgotten his name)
Todd.
Thanks. I'm so happy that we so seldom hear about him that I could forget his name.
President McCain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9I0mMEMAKQ&fe...
President Palin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRuBdW0yBUY
Sarah Palin would be the next Justice, but at least it would be a woman! The best candidate should be nominated, regardless of anything else. We need brains and integrity now. Time for the rest later.
They'd reveal to the world they can, in fact, clone and still have some of Hitler's DNA. Goebbels would be back up for the next empty seat.
We have to deal with lifetime appointments of Roberts and Alito by a man who wasn't even elected president let alone given a mandate to appoint unqualified right wing ideologues. I hope Obama's nominee wears sandals and a daisy chain just to make their heads explode.
That's it that's another 1!!!
Another illegal move by that GOP lead by George of the Jungle.
Evey single last thing done, over the past 8 years is invalid, in my mind Including the 2 EvanjelloKill freaks appointed by the Bushster.
That is the change I am looking for.
Clarence Thomas, the right-wingnut who thought nepotism would give him respect. What an embarrassment!
I was speaking mostly of the 2 most recent who were nominated by an unelected right wing Chimp. Yes one can certainly add Thomas and Scalia. Dreadful choices too.
Alas, I find it fascinating that conservatives have no problem force feeding the rest of the country ultra conservative justices. But I am sure, that Obama will be nominating a moderate conservative to the bench, lest he offends the conservative sensibilities.
The nominee won't be as backwards as what a McCain/Palin presidency would have come up with, which is a silver lining of sorts. But I am not holding my breath about Obama having the gonads to put forth even a mildly liberal nominee.
Let's remember that
I think this marks Obama's most important test to date. I'm a bit nervous.
The Freepers are already going nuts!
The Freepers are already going nuts!
That is not what you meant. right?
You mean going even more nuts than usual. Right?
This may cause their nut shells to crack wide open.
A wet dream if there is one. :-)
I know, isn't it wonderful?! They are going to get a dose of how we felt when Chimp put up Alito and Roberts.
I am willing to bet a whole case of beer that Obama will pick a centrist, or a moderate conservative nominee. Obama does not have the balls nor the inclination to pick a militant liberal judge.
That won't stop the freepers from bitching and moaning, since any nominee not to the right of Ghengis Kahn would be an unacceptable pinko commie activist judge for them...
I'm pretty sure President Obama's first choice will not be Harriet Miers. I would bet on it.
I hope whoever he or she is he or she is under 25 years old. That would really make the nutters go nuts!
Although they just posted the story, check out
http://www.thefoxnation.com/
And read some of the other stories and the threads.
LOOOONY TOOOns!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoWMJhjh7Ts
You r 2 fast! lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BKtY-DWvok&fe...
I went to see crazy. Holy!
Also watched the Loony Tunes (ybs).
Me, too. My drive-by name today was Tawanna. I saw you and others there. That is the most fun I have had in nine years. Thank for showing me the way.
Texas TJ's response, Tawanna,
We will see how KUMBAYA you are as your rights as well as those of us who are CONSERVATIVES watch your rights being drained away. You must be one of those OLD HIPPIES who never grew up, had a job, paid bills and taxes. You must be one of those entitlement folks who gets a monthly WELFARE CHECK, FREE MEDICAL CARE, FOOD STAMPS and smokes something besides MARLBORO. You are what makes AMERICA the BEAUTIFUL -now AMERICA the TERRIFYING. You will soon get just what you want and I can guarantee it will harm this great country in ways your BLIND HATRED cannot see. You are blinded by THE ENCHANTED ONE!
He's going into the retiring business?
For me they always pop on the highway.
So far, BO has not exactly been as 'progressive' as we believed he would be prior to taking office. I would not be surprised if he nominated a corporate shill for the job. Crazy idea you say? Let me point out some things:
* BO supported telco immunity
* BO is supporting the secret copyright treaty
* BO has already named 5 RIAA lawyers to various top DOJ positions.
I think it would be foolish to give BO a blank check on this.
I agree
Obama is puppetted by the same set of corporate strings as the past presidents.
GOOD LUCK getting a "progressive" working for the people in there.
Maybe you didn't read Amato's post, but the GOP thought they had a puppet in Souter and he turned out to be nearly 180 of what they thought they were getting. There is no reason that Obama will appoint a "corporate" judge. Anyway, maybe I am just thick, but Obama was never much of a progressive anyway and it was clear to me that is not where he set his stall in the first place. Kucinich and Edwards were the progressives, Obama, not so much.
Him for Supreme Court!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI-vn-TnNoM
for waiting until Bush was out. I think Obama will come through on this one. It is too important for him to fail us.
See above.
Why yes, it was very, very good of him to wait. Especially considering he was appointed by Daddy Bush. We should all send him "Thank-you cards".
There's talk that Sonia Sotomayor might be in the running and perhaps top of the list. An attorney on Fox just said she is far left and is all about the separation of church and state. I could vote for her on that alone.
Nothing can be more likely than that to bring out the array of Blue-Dawgs against the nominee.
There are between 12 and 15 DINO/BlueDawgs in the Dim caucus. No Pukes will cross over on this. 41's the magic number, and the Dims will lose if the nominee's seen to be 'liberal.'
just as long as he, she will be pro choice. that way the righties won't be interupted cleaning their closet with rightousness
Surrounded by a solid wall of fellow bluedogs I expect Obama will appoint justices that will please the shit out of Scalia Thomas and the rest of them in ensuring the u.s. remains a Corporation. Anyone who thinks otherwise must still be in a state of "Hope".
Prepare for more war, people on the streets, fascist use of young people & all sorts of gov't intrusions into our lives.
Ginsburg is on the edge as well. We're in trouble, people.
Reslugs are pissing in their panties since Prez Obama will finally pick a suitable person to serve on the court, so we won't have just the Right Wing-Nuts we have now.
Three other justices are either in their 80s or will turn 80 before the end of Obama's 2nd term (assuming he gets one), including Stevens and Ginsburg.
Obama could end up naming more Supreme Court justices than any president since Nixon (4).
great now lets see wich right wing douchbag obama nominates and who you will whole heartedly support!
It's Obama's first day so it's okay because everyone makes mistakes on their first day. Also, he's just doing it as a rope-a-dope strategery which will be brilliant.
I think it is rational to say Obama is not as progressive as Wingnuttia would have you believe. Obama is not as progressive as I would like. He is not as progressive as you would like. Having said that I just hope, and I think it is fair, that he appoints somebody who is as far to the left as Alito and Roberts are to the right. That is all I want. Nothing more.
In the interests of moving forward, bi-partisanship, and reconciliation, I predict someone very "Centrist" (American style), which in my world is far right.
I'm and old lady who can't have kids anymore - heck, I don't even have sex anymore, but dammit, don't take away the right for a woman to terminate another life because that will limit her ability to live the life she wants.
"Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants." - Mother Teresa
More pro-abortion Supremies? I have never heard any "pro abortion" anybody. Virtually nobody is "pro abortion." Dumbass.
Nobody is "pro-abortion." That's like saying a wide swath of the populace is "pro-colonoscopy." Or "pro-root canal."
But people who respect and value a woman's right to medical privacy are "pro-choice."
Similarly, these reich-wing religious wackos aren't "pro-life." They love war and death and torture (any sort of mayhem as long as no fetus is involved). They're "anti-choice."
Always remember that part of the problem over these past 30 or 40 years is that reich-wingers have masterfully framed the language. They've won the semantic wars (see: demonization of the word "liberal"), to our great detriment. We need to take the language back.
it is funny, in a sad kinda way, to see their misconceptions... and even sadder when they think they are "blending in."
and by blending in .................you mean being a bott? as in ass kissing with the gang? since when does anyone being able to have a differnt opinion keep them from being a liberal? and what is your definition of a real liberal,? someone whos right of center? i call that repig lite!
Kinda like michael steal?
Mother Teresa was a fucking phony. She acted like she was so "charitable" but had no sympathy for the rape victims who got pregnant during the war between India and Pakistan in 1971. Didn't give a shit about the victims' state of mind, not a word about the soldiers who did it. Just "don't have abortions". That might be a great mindset in Wingnuttia, but here in the real world, it just doesn't fucking cut it.
Dedicate your life to helping the poor, Maude, then come back and bad-mouth Mother Teresa. I am pro-choice myself, but I am not so narrow minded myself that I will discount all of the selfless good she did, because she is pro-life. She actually expressed doubts about her religion in later years. Regardless, she was out there doing her best to do good. What have you done for man-kind, Maude?
Moron!
You already do that. It's called illegal invasion and torture.
Mother Teresa can say shit like that, but not America.
Do you support the death penalty? Do you condone torture? Do you remember when someone asked Bush Sr. how he could oppose pro-choice and condone the death penalty? I clearly remember someone saying, "It's all in the timing, isn't it?" And if I am not mistaken, Mother Teresa doubted the existence of God towards the end of her life. That is what happens when one is exposed to so much misery. Don't you think it is better to recycle a zygote than torment and abuse unwanted children? Huh? High horses--easy to fall from.
Replacement? How about that Bybee guy?
Just a joke.
Why can't it be Scalia?
If he eats a few more pizzas, it will be. Why are there so many huge conservatives?
Seriously given Obama track record with his picks. I'm scared he will try to use this to "build bridges" with the GOP.
I hope he Put a strong moderate or left leaning judge on there, but I wouldn't be surprised if I’m disappointed.
If Vincent Bugliosi were only 30 or 40 years younger...
Because Mr. Obama probably doesn't want to waste political energy in a Supreme Court Judge confirmation, I strongly suspect he'll nominate a very conservative thinker who is likely to pass through with minimal controversy. While I have no doubt that Mr. Obama's choice will be highly qualified, I also suggest he or she will make Justice Scalia look like a centrist.
He may go centrist, but I would be willing to bet the farm he won't go right of center. I am hoping for Rev. Wright just to watch heads explode, but I don't think the Prez shares my slightly twisted sense of humor.
I will continue to pray for Alito to choke on a cannoli.
I don't agree. Obama has shown he's willing to do things while he's popular and he has the power to act. But he's got a lot to fix and he's prioritizing, so alarmists on the left are typically alarmed. I don't think a Supreme Court seat will be low on his list of things to do. I think he'll stall (and Souter won't officially announce) until Franken's seat is closer to settled.
Diane Wood. You should be rooting for Diane Wood. She's more liberal than I am on the first amendment and for 25 years she's been the conscience sitting across the table from Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit and at U Chicago Law School. She's brilliant, had a career in antitrust and int'l trade law (so she's comfortable with int'l law and understands Law & Economics without the deification of Wall St.), and she's 58. She's written some strongly pro-choice opinions, but Arlen Specter is pro-choice and I don't know what Dem senator what to be the one to screw Obama's first SC choice. She's as smart as John Roberts, who was just plain too qualified not to confirm.
I would guess someone's having a look at her tax returns right now.
40 Republican Senators say NO to Obama's Supreme Court nominee. 60 Democratic Senators say so and vote her in anyway.
bwwwwhhhhaaaaaa you bet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqZSnDCEYr4
it comes to Obama "hope" is a long flat line. I can't believe what I'm hearing people actually expect him to make supreme court appointments to balance it just like in the old days. He won't.
Get used to it.
How about replacing him with Judge John Jones, he of the Dover idiotic delusion trial?
He's a conservative yet follows the constituion and has a record of seeking evidence over avoidance. He could make everybody happy.
Now let's find a legal way to get rid of the Antagonizing ScumLiar and Reprehensiblequist.
I took your advice. I have not had so much fun in quite awhile. I swiped this from them. I present it for your amusement. This is what happens when idiots learn a catch phrase, like "balance of power' or "legislate from the bench." I have found a way to release my frustrations. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
LindaB
Reply
He will appoint ideologues NOT constitutionalist. Our founders made it very clear as to the balance of powers in the branches. The SC is suppose to be the LEAST powerful of all of the branches. This was created so that they could not legislate from the bench. Well, since we have had such weak congressional bodies that won't legislate the court has had the power to do so. Maybe if congress was more interested in upholding the constitution much of what has and is happening to this country wouldn't be such a problem!
Friday, May 01, 2009 at 11:09 AM
There wre so many important reasons Obama had to win this election: this was a top one. I will rest easy knowing that for four years, the republicans will NOT be appointing Supreme Court Justices. Let's get as many retirements as we can, replacing conservatives, and holding liberal seats. Bugger the right-wing talking points and catch phrases. The more Fox news and James Dobson and Laura Ingram despise a judge, the better you can bet they are. The more they're called "Liberal Activist Judges", or "Legislators from the Bench", the more they're protecting your rights. OMG, can you imagine a court filled with as many replacements as will probably be made during this term appointed by...Sarah Palin??
Here it comes. Make or break time for Obama. Judges were my biggest issue regarding the democratic primaries. Anyway Obama needs to nominate SECULAR PROGRESSIVES. Anything short of that would be (for me) a dismal failure.
When I first heard this news, I immediately thought, "Damn, why couldn't it have been Scalia or Thomas?" I was really hoping one of them would retire before Souter because Souter is actually a decent justice as opposed to those two. Well, we shall see how this all plays out. I'm hoping for the best (progressive who understands separation between church and state) but expecting the worst (Alito-lite).
Maybe it's time for Obama to resurrect FDR's court-packing bill?
It is imperative that President Obama shove to the wingnuts a true progressive for whom the SPIRIT of the Constitution is much more important than the grade-AA crapola about textualism and reductionism a la Scalia and Thomas.
In other words, the wingnuttery must be made to dig very clearly to abandon all hope. The shift to a TRUE center-left (the position of a majority of Americans according to long-term polls) has begun and is irreversible.
There can be no compromise on that; after all, will the GOP make any compromise? No, right? Hence, pray tell why we should?
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