Obama Hopes to Replace Souter by Oct.

(NEWSER) - President Obama said today he would be announcing his nominee to the Supreme Court “soon” and hopes to have the new justice confirmed by Congress’ August recess, Bloomberg reports. In a C-SPAN interview, Obama laid out his criteria, which includes not only “ivory tower learning” but also empathy. “You have to be able to stand in somebody else’s shoes and see through their eyes and get a sense of how the law might work or not work in practical day-to-day living.” More»

Proportion wanting female appointee shrinks from 2005

(NEWSER) - Americans don’t feel strongly that the next Supreme Court appointee should be a woman, Hispanic, or black, Gallup Poll results suggest: most say it’s a non-issue. Some 64% say it “doesn’t matter” whether the appointee is a woman; 68% say it doesn’t matter whether he or she is Hispanic; and 74% say it doesn’t matter whether he or she is black. More»

(NEWSER) - The battle for David Souter’s seat on the Supreme Court will be a pitched fight over Roe v. Wade, Cynthia Tucker writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Here’s a suggestion for a pragmatic president with excellent political instincts and the moral capacity to see the ethical quandaries inherent in Roe," she writes. “Find partners for a highly public crusade to encourage contraception. And challenge abortion-rights opponents to join that crusade.” 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»

(NEWSER) - Supreme Court Justice David Souter thinks the worth of a jurist is “not in the great moments, but in being part of the great stream,” he said in an emotional farewell today to appeals-court judges. Souter said he didn’t intend that news of his retirement be leaked but was glad that it “gives me the chance to say some of the things on my mind," the Washington Post reports. Judges' value comes not from perfect decisions or trials but from being "members of a great guild," he said. More»