Who Would Obama Pick for Supreme Court?

Expect a fierce battle for liberal justice's replacement

(NEWSER) - What will John Paul Stevens’ retirement mean for the Supreme Court? Here are three early thoughts on what comes next:

• Expect the tea partiers to get extremely riled up over whoever President Obama nominates, writes Chris Good of the Atlantic . They have a “very strict (one could almost say fundamentalist)” take on the Constitution, and they’re itching for a post-health care fight.

Supreme Court's liberal leader says he'll leave within three years

(NEWSER) - John Paul Stevens would like to make a decision about retiring from the Supreme Court within the next month, he reveals in a new interview. “I still have my options open,” he tells Jeffrey Toobin in a lengthy New Yorker profile. “You can say I will retire within the next three years. I’m sure of that.” In 2 years Stevens, now 89, would be the longest-serving justice ever, but he says he’s “never felt any interest in trying to break any records.” More»

Lack of a ring turns top female Supreme Court candidates into targets

(NEWSER) - David Souter is a lifelong bachelor, but the possibility of a bachelorette replacement has started an uproar. Why? Because those potential Supreme Court justices are women, and when a powerful woman is unmarried it "seems to make everyone think: lonely, misfit, or lesbian," write Dahlia Lithwick and Hanna Rosin for Slate. Two potential candidates are lesbians, but that hasn't exactly opened the door to a frank discussion of what it would mean to have an openly gay woman on the bench. More»

Aging Stevens, Ginsburg show no sign of retiring, defying conventional wisdom

(NEWSER) - One of the boons for the next president was thought to be the chance to appoint a justice or two to the Supreme Court. But though John Paul Stevens is 88 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg 75, neither has indicated an intention to retire. Ginsberg has twice demurred, saying Stevens, who is “going strong at age 88,” is a role model, writes Jan Crawford Greenburg for ABC. More»

Fear of backlash keeps Dems timid on 2nd amendment

(NEWSER) - Gun-rights advocates who feared that the Obama presidency would mean the end of the Second Amendment have instead found the political climate surprisingly friendly, the Washington Independent reports. The Supreme Court and state legislatures alike have awarded victories to pro-gun forces, and federal lawmakers are wary of rocking the boat. Even though Democrats hold majorities, members of Congress remember the powerful right-wing backlash President Clinton's gun control efforts fueled. More»