David Souter Retiring, Obama gets to make first SCOTUS pick

[MysticCat]

There has been speculation for a while that this was coming.

And yeah, don't look for Thomas to retire anytime soon.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

There has been speculation for a while that this was coming.

And yeah, don't look for Thomas to retire anytime soon.

oh, i know thomas won't but what is wrong with wishful thinking?

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

There has been speculation for a while that this was coming.

And yeah, don't look for Thomas to retire anytime soon.

Exactly. Souter has always been a pretty private guy, and he's never really enjoyed the spotlight that comes with being a Court Justice. Now he can retire back to New Hampshire and live a quiet life, without the attention of the DC scene.

SCOTUS Blog has a good rundown of Souter and his legacy here: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/justice...ere/#more-9387 .

I tend to agree that Sotomayor or Wood will be the nominee; both are brilliant, and neither is all that controversial. I'm unsure whether he would elevate Kagan so soon after making her Solicitor General, but who knows.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

E
I tend to agree that Sotomayor or Wood will be the nominee; both are brilliant, and neither is all that controversial. I'm unsure whether he would elevate Kagan so soon after making her Solicitor General, but who knows.

That seems to be a popular consensus, since they are great women with Chicago ties... their names are popping up a lot in the political blogs

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by a.e.B.O.T.

That seems to be a popular consensus, since they are great women with Chicago ties... their names are popping up a lot in the political blogs

They're all definitely brilliant and well-qualified for the position. No matter what, I would imagine that Kagan will end up on the Court at some point (unless she gets involved with some scandal or ethical/legal issue).

[KSigkid]

Looks like it's Sotomayor: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...nia-sotomayor/ .

I'm slightly surprised, only in that I thought it would be Kagan or Wood. I suppose, though that it's not that surprising: I know there were some questions about Wood's age, and Kagan's young enough that if another vacancy opens up (Ginsburg or Stevens) during Obama's presidency, she can be brought forth as a nominee (with some good non-academic experience to boot as Solicitor General).

ETA: She'll probably sail through the confirmation process; there's really only one controversial opinion (the Riccio firefighter case), and she made a remark a few years ago about judges making policy. Otherwise, she's got the credentials and a fairly impressive life story.

[PhoenixAzul]

And she's a Type 1 diabetic . I wonder if she wears a pump or if she takes injections.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

And she's a Type 1 diabetic . I wonder if she wears a pump or if she takes injections.

Wow. I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing.

[PhiSigmaRho]

Sotomayor is Obama's safe pick, the one he knows will easily get confirmed because she is highly qualified. I see him emphasizing her background to pacify his liberal base, who wants to see a super liberal judge on the bench. Personally, I hope she turns out to be more of a centrist, like O'Connor who made the Court so interesting at times.