Justice Souter to Retire

Interesting news about Justice Souter.  Everyone had known that Justice Souter was the only Justice to not have picked any clerks for the upcoming term.  And apparently that was with good reason.  The WSJ, NPR and other outlets apparently have a source that Souter has informed the White House of his decision to retire. 

Souter is 69 years young, and is still sharp in his legal analysis.  Maybe, he wants to spend more time with his family or retire on top.  But, for whatever reason, Souter is leaving the bench.  

The vacancy strikes away a liberal vote on the bench (4-1=3).  It is common sense that Obama will replace Souter with another liberal.  Hopefully, the new Justice will not pull a Souter and go away from his ideological views (many believed that Souter was a consevative when appointed by Bush Sr. in 1990).  

Some current speculation has Cass Sunstein as a potential front runner.  Cass was recently appointed by President Obama as head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), but this would obviously be a huge step up for Professor Sunstein who has spend many years with the University of Chicago.  

Another potential replacement is William Clinton (you know Bill).  However, I cannot see this occuring, because he would be too difficult to confirm, even with a majority in the House and Senate (thanks Specter).  

Over the next few weeks, expect to hear a lot of speculation about former University of Chicago professors, and even some that might have recently moved to Harvard (you know who I am talking about, if not use google).