Washington Post reports that Justice John Paul Stevens is giving no indications of an impending retirement. However, IÂ’m intrigued by this little tidbit.

The three most often mentioned [as potential retiring justices] -- Stevens, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75, and Justice David H. Souter, 69 -- are part of the four-member bloc that most consistently votes liberal. Logic would have it that they would want their replacements to be like-minded.

But Ginsburg has made clear lately that she should not be thought of as having one foot out the door, and Souter rarely gives interviews or speeches that would reveal his intentions. They and Stevens have hired clerks for the term that starts in October.

Now that doesn’t mean that there won’t be a vacancy – but hiring clerks this far in advance would be brutally unfair to some brilliant young men and women if their retirement is in the offering. After all, the new justice (or justices) would have no obligation to keep the retired justice’s clerks – and would very likely bring one or more of their current clerks if they are sitting federal judges, or student protégés if they are not. So short of a death or a sudden health crisis, I would bet that the 2009-2010 Supreme Court term will begin with the same lineup of justices we saw when the 2008-2009 term began last month.

Posted by: Greg at 01:34 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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