Stevens' Exit Would Break Court Tradition

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»

Liberal stalwart, at age 89, admits, 'I'm not exactly a kid'

(NEWSER) - John Paul Stevens, the senior justice on the Supreme Court and the bench's liberal lion, says he gave serious thought to retiring—in the late 1980s, when he was 65 years old. Instead, while younger colleagues have packed their bags, Stevens has become the court's master tactician, cobbling together narrow majorities for decisions on civil rights, the death penalty, and Guantanamo Bay. Now approaching 90, Stevens suggests to USA Today that he's ready to leave: "That can't be news. I'm not exactly a kid." More»

(AP) - Bowtie-wearing lawyers and spectators dotted the Supreme Court chamber on the last day Justice John Paul Stevens sat on the bench, a nod to the retiring justice and his signature neckwear. The 90-year-old Stevens told colleagues in a letter he read from the bench that if he had "overstayed" his welcome, it was because being a justice is "such a unique and wonderful job." More»

Obama has another Supreme Court vacancy to fill

(AP) - US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, says he is retiring. President Obama now has his second high court opening to fill. Stevens said today that he will step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in late June or early July. He said he hopes his successor is confirmed "well in advance of the commencement of the court's next term." More»

Says he's close to making a retirement decision

(NEWSER) - John Paul Stevens still hasn't decided whether he's going to retire from the Supreme Court, but he admits a "novel experience" to the New York Times —feeling tired on the bench. It came during the huge decision on corporate political donations in January, when Stevens, who turns 90 this month, faltered while reading his dissent from the bench. More»