Let The Wrangling Commence: Justice John Paul Stevens Likely To Step Down
Nothing for sure yet, but the odds are good given that Stevens is the oldest serving Justice on the court.
In response to a question from The Associated Press, Stevens confirmed through a court spokeswoman Tuesday that he has hired only one clerk for the term that begins in October 2010. He is among several justices who typically have hired all four clerks for the following year by now. Information about this advance hiring is not released by the court but is regularly published by some legal blogs.
Stevens did not say whether he plans to hire his full allotment of clerks or whether he will leave the court at the conclusion of the term that begins next month. Retired justices are allowed to hire one clerk.
Former law clerks said the justice has for years hired all his clerks at once, usually in June or July of the year preceding their appointment. “I’d be surprised if he hired one but not four,” said Columbia University law professor Jamal Greene, who worked for Stevens in 2006 and 2007.
So now begins all the calculations about which mixture of race, gender and sexual orientation is right to replace Stevens.
Personally, I’m pulling for a Norwegian. For years Scandinavian immigrants were subjected to discrimination and derision in this country, and currently Norwegians and indeed Scandinavians in general are not represented on the SCOTUS at all. We have a black man, some Jews, a couple of Italian-Americans, a Hispanic woman…but no Scandinavians.
Its a real shame that this important demographic in America is going unrepresented on the Supreme Court. It’s a national embarrassment Obama should fix with his next appointment.
And yes, I’m being sarcastic. I think that considering someone’s gender or race or sexual orientation during a judicial appointment is about as disgusting as considering them during a job interview regardless of the motivation for such considerations.
