Pundits Ignore Justice Ginsburg’s Plans to Remain on the Court
Pundits are predicting that three of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most liberal justices will announce their retirements after Barack Obama takes office so he can name like-minded replacements.
The theory is that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter and John Paul Stevens will all step down, Legal Times reports. Stevens is the oldest at age 88, followed by Ginsburg, who is 75, and Souter, who is 69.
But the prognosticators aren’t listening to Ginsburg, who says she has no plans to retire, the Legal Times story says. Speaking at Columbia University on Oct. 25, she referred to Justice Louis Brandeis. Ginsburg said Brandeis “became a justice at age 60, as I did. He remained on the bench until age 83. My hope and expectation is to hold my office at least that long.”
The justice most likely to consider retirement could be John Paul Stevens, an anonymous friend told the publication. But Stevens also has said he intends to remain on the court as long as he enjoys writing his own opinions.
Most justices retire based on health factors rather than the politics of the president, the Legal Times story says. And they tend to retire at a rate of no more than one per term to minimize disruptions.
Missouri-Kansas City political scientist David Atkinson has written a book on why justices retire. “I don’t think justices retire strategically, by and large,” he told the newspaper. “As long as they are in good health and feel happy and indispensable, they tend to stay.”
