Supreme Court Justice Stevens Retiring

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill.

Stevens said Friday he will step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in late June or early July. He said he hopes his successor is confirmed "well in advance of the commencement of the court's next term."


So let the speculation begin -- who will be the successor, and what impact will it have on the court?

I saw something, on SCOTUS blog, I think that both parties want to get an Asian-American on Board. But I have also read that Kaplan is a likely candidate.

I think he'll go for a more liberal candidate and keep Kaplan in reserve in case Ginsberg retires as well. If the midterms result in a loss of Senate seats it will be harder to get a more ideological candidate confirmed. Additionally, identity politics create a strong pull for an Asian-American candidate.

However, I would like to nominate Andrea Westerfeld again.

I thought I stood a chance under Bush, but he went for that hack Roberts instead.

I think he'll go for as liberal as he thinks he can get away with. But he'll have to balance the possibility of getting a more liberal candidate through now against losing more seats in November if he pushes someone too liberal, I think.

quote:

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Originally posted by David Newell:

However, I would like to nominate Andrea Westerfeld again.

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I once again second that nomination and would further say that Obama could make the Court really excellent if he'd just appoint Andrea.

It's a shocking oversight! While Washington keeps getting it wrong, Andrea is languishing in Texas. But all is not lost. One day, Washington too will regularly read the TDCAA forums and truly know who to appoint to future vacancies.