NEOAVATARA

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/01/souter.politics/index.html#cnnSTCOther1

Supreme Court justice David Souter, a Bush appointee, has announced that he will retire, leaving Barack Obama his first opening on the Court. At age 69, he is not one of the older justices. With liberals John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsberg both looking to retire in the near future, Obama could quickly shift the court back to the left.

Three names immediately popped up as potential candidates: Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Dianne Wood…all considered strong leftists.  The most moderate name?  Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.  Yup, maybe the worst governor in the United States.  That said, I can’t comment on her judicial abilities; she may be an adequate judge, who knows.

Barack Obama’s view on the Court is classic neoliberalism.  Look at his statement today:

“I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind, and a record of excellence and integrity,” he said. “I will seek someone who understands that justice isn’t about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book, it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives, whether they can make a living, and care for their families, whether they feel safe in their homes, and welcome in their own nation. I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with peoples hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes.”

What you didn’t hear:  finding a justice that will follow the laws of the land, which is actually the preeminent role of a Supreme Court Justice.

Some of the repercussions of the Arlen Specter defection are interesting as well.  Michael Dorf (who must be prescient, and wrote this before the Souter resignation) stated that with the loss of Specter, the Republicans may actually have a stronger ability to stop judicial nominees, if they have the backbone to do that.  Dorf has a complete breakdown at his site, but it boils down to this:  under the current rules of the Senate, at least one member of the minority has to vote for the nominee to get them out of committee.  That member would have been Specter, but he is now a Democrat…so they have to find someone else to be the Republican defector.  Interesting.

The real question in the longterm will be the age of the candidate. Frankly, Souter was one of the most dependable liberals on the court, so switching a liberal for a liberal is not by itself going to change the court that much. But if Obama picks a ‘young’ justice, along the lines of John Roberts and Samuel Alito, he could start a shifton the court for decades to come.