Justice Stevens Planning to Retire?

Pure speculation, but it looks like Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens may be set to retire after this court term. As the oldest Justice at 89, it wouldn't be that much of a surprise. The cause of the speculation is that Stevens has hired fewer clerks than he usually would:

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has hired fewer law clerks than usual, generating speculation that the leader of the court's liberals will retire next year.

If Stevens does step down, he would give President Barack Obama his second high court opening in two years. Obama chose Justice Sonia Sotomayor for the court when Justice David Souter announced his retirement in May.

Souter's failure to hire clerks was the first signal that he was contemplating leaving the court.

Stevens, 89, joined the court in 1975 and is the second-oldest justice in the court's history, after Oliver Wendell Holmes. He is the seventh-longest-serving justice, with more than 33 years and eight months 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.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jp9jrwkjig6vQnONc-Zyk9lChX8wD9AF1GS02

One of the major factors in my support for Obama over McCain was Supreme Court appointments. While Obama's replacement for Stevens wouldn't alter the courts balance (still 5-4 conservative), a McCain appointee would further skew the court to the right. Knowing that there would be openings on the court (although Souter's retirement was less expected) due to Stevens age and Ruth Bader-Ginsburg's cancer (although she's stated her intent to remain on the bench), I saw it as imperative to have a Dem as President. I'm not all that happy with Obama, but I'm much more comfortable with him making appointments than McCain. That would have been scary.