Ginsburg Hospitalized Again

Obama too timid on federal nominees, with big issues coming

(NEWSER) - With big issues working their way toward the Supreme Court on such vital issues as health care reform, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and police stops of undocumented immigrants, liberals need to be on guard, writes longtime court-watcher Emily Bazelon for the New York Times . Sure, there are solid progressives, such as Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. But frequent swing vote Anthony Kennedy, while he may side with liberals on occasion, has a voting record on par with Ronald Reagan. More»

Oldest justice says her retirement is not imminent

(NEWSER) - Ruth Bader Ginsburg tells the AP , in a roundabout way, that she won't be retiring from the Supreme Court "anytime soon." The significance? Ginsburg is 78 and the court's oldest justice. She's also had health problems , and Democrats' worst-case scenario is that President Obama loses re-election, and Ginsburg has to retire soon afterward. She could, of course, retire now and allow Obama to make a new left-learning pick. 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) - Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from a Washington hospital today after spending the night as a precaution. The 76-year-old Supreme Court justice planned to be back at work later today. Ginsburg, who underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in February, "developed lightheadedness and fatigue" in her office yesterday after receiving treatment for anemia, said a court statement. More»

(NEWSER) - Ruth Bader Ginsburg can't wait for Sonia Sotomayor to join her on the Supreme Court. In a lively Q&A with Emily Bazelon for the New York Times magazine, Ginsburg says she's tired of being the lone female justice. "It’s almost like being back in law school in 1956, when there were nine of us in a class of over 500...and you felt that every eye was on you. Every time you went to answer a question, you were answering for your entire sex." An 8-1 gender imbalance "just doesn’t look right in the year 2009." More»