Justice Stevens retiring

[epo]

Justice Stevens to Retire After 34 Years (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/10/us/politics/10stevens.html)

Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the leader of the liberals on the Supreme Court, announced on Friday that he will retire at the end of this term, setting up a confirmation battle over his replacement that could dominate the political scene this summer.

In a brief letter to President Obama, whom he addressed as “my dear Mr. President,” Justice Stevens said he was announcing his retirement now because he had “concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court’s next term” in October.

A representative from the Supreme Court delivered the letter to the White House at 10:30 a.m., a White House official said. Fifteen minutes later, Bob Bauer, the White House counsel, informed the president by telephone.

The retirement by Justice Stevens, 89, had been widely expected, because he did not hire the usual number of clerks for next year’s term.

Like the Souter retirement, this retirement likely will not change the nature of the Court. Souter is on the left, Obama will appoint someone on the left...which makes this a weird non-story.

[A.J.]

In a brief letter to President Obama, whom he addressed as “my dear Mr. President,”

Queer.

[Jujubees2]

Who the hell is Bob Bauer and why does he open the president's mail? I hope he didn't open my letter to my dear president.

[WRESTLINGFAN]

Who the hell is Bob Bauer and why does he open the president's mail? I hope he didn't open my letter to my dear president.

He is Obamas LLLLLLLOOOOYD!!!!!!!!!

[KnoxHarrington]

I've always thought that lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court are a bad idea, becuase you're stuck with a dead weight political hack appointment like Clarence Thomas forever. Thomas has done absolutely nothing in his tenure on the Court to show that his appointment was anything more than a cynical political trick ("OK, I gotta put a colored guy on the Court, let's find one who hates black people more than most white people, except if they're in porn"). He needs to go.

I think they should be up for re-appointment every 10 years or so.

[WRESTLINGFAN]

I've always thought that lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court are a bad idea, becuase you're stuck with a dead weight political hack appointment like Clarence Thomas forever. Thomas has done absolutely nothing in his tenure on the Court to show that his appointment was anything more than a cynical political trick ("OK, I gotta put a colored guy on the Court, let's find one who hates black people more than most white people, except if they're in porn"). He needs to go.

I think they should be up for re-appointment every 10 years or so.

He did have the most entertaining confirmation hearings ever

[KnoxHarrington]

He did have the most entertaining confirmation hearings ever

Hearing "Long Dong Silver" mentioned on the Senate floor was worth it all

[Dude!]

I've always thought that lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court are a bad idea, becuase you're stuck with a dead weight political hack appointment like Clarence Thomas forever. Thomas has done absolutely nothing in his tenure on the Court to show that his appointment was anything more than a cynical political trick

silly non-point

what has ruth ginsberg done?
what has steven breyer done?
what did souter do?

except for scalia
they are all unremarkable
and there is nothing wrong
with that

[Serpico1103]

I hope obama appoints a young man to keep liberal justices on the bench as long as possible. I don't like life terms. 20 years would serve the purpose without giving so much power to a president that happens to be in office when justices retire. A SC appointment can be one of the most lasting thing a president does. If souter retired/died just over a year ago the court would be dramatically different. It makes the retirement a political decision, or appear so.

[Dude!]

I hope obama appoints a young man to keep liberal justices on the bench as long as possible.

there are 8 men
and 1 woman

and you want him to appoint
another man

sexist

you probably really wanted to say
"white man"

[Willmore]

I've always thought that lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court are a bad idea, becuase you're stuck with a dead weight political hack appointment like Clarence Thomas forever. Thomas has done absolutely nothing in his tenure on the Court to show that his appointment was anything more than a cynical political trick ("OK, I gotta put a colored guy on the Court, let's find one who hates black people more than most white people, except if they're in porn"). He needs to go.

I think they should be up for re-appointment every 10 years or so.

So, under your plan, Bush would have filled the court with Alitos and Clinton with Ginsburgs? Good plan. The system isn't perfect, but it provides the sort of stability and ideological balance that is vital in that institution.

[Serpico1103]

there are 8 men
and 1 woman

and you want him to appoint
another man

sexist

you probably really wanted to say
"white man"
I didn't think I needed to say white. You need to have been admitted to a state bar to be appointed. High school, college, law school, bar- black man? Hahahahahahahahaha

[Willmore]

I hope obama appoints a young man to keep liberal justices on the bench as long as possible. I don't like life terms. 20 years would serve the purpose without giving so much power to a president that happens to be in office when justices retire. A SC appointment can be one of the most lasting thing a president does. If souter retired/died just over a year ago the court would be dramatically different. It makes the retirement a political decision, or appear so.

Then root for Goodwin Liu to get the nomination. He's 39 and very liberal. Right now he's nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court.

[Serpico1103]

Then root for Goodwin Liu to get the nomination. He's 39 and very liberal. Right now he's nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court.
Liu- doesn't sound anglo-saxon. I want a 25yo to sit on ... the court. A good 50 year reign.

[epo]

there are 8 men
and 1 woman

and you want him to appoint
another man

sexist

you probably really wanted to say
"white man"

Wrong. The split is 7/2.

The 2 women on the Court are: Ginsburg and Sotomayor.

[Serpico1103]

Wrong. The split is 7/2.

The 2 women on the Court are: Ginsburg and Sotomayor.
He was just showing his hatred of women. Implying that 2 women equal 1 man.

[Dude!]

He was just showing his hatred of women. Implying that 2 women equal 1 man.

wrong
sotomayor is so butch
i count her as a man

[Serpico1103]

wrong
sotomeyer is so butch
i count her as a man
So you define women by their sexual appeal? Sexiest pig! Is that why you hate obama, because you define black men by their athletic ability?

[SinA]

Obama should appoint Sarah Palin.
That shit would be ha-larry-is.

[Willmore]

wrong
sotomayor is so butch
i count her as a man

I'll give you that, but then you can't count Breyer as a man.

[Willmore]

Liu- doesn't sound anglo-saxon. I want a 25yo to sit on ... the court. A good 50 year reign.

Reign? With that word, why don't you go where the sun don't shine! (England)

[Serpico1103]

Reign? With that word, why don't you go where the sun don't shine! (England)
I am happy our theocracy, with the kenyan sun god obama at the helm.

[StanUpshaw]

I think he should give Harriet Miers another shot.

[Willmore]

I think he should give Harriet Miers another shot.

True. She didn't get a fair shake.

But it's probably a bit late for her. She really lost her looks the last few years:

http://justgrits.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/grinch_santa.jpg

[Dude!]

So you define women by their sexual appeal? Sexiest pig! Is that why you hate obama, because you define black men by their athletic ability?

yes, women are defined
by their sex appeal
what else is there?

no, black men are defined
by their level of
'crime-accomplishment'
ie, how many times imprisoned

[Willmore]

yes, women are defined
by their sex appeal
what else is there?

no, black men are defined
by their level of
'crime-accomplishment'
ie, how many times imprisoned

You're oversimplifying. There's a complex formula, with a multitude of variable: athletic ability, location of birth (south/north), use of NAACP, Malcolm X vs. MLK etc.

The only reason Obama was elected, is that the formula crashed the Election Commission's computers and they couldn't verify. Apparently, there was a division by 0, since Obama was born in Hawaii, no one could have predicted it.

[SatCam]

A representative from the Supreme Court delivered the letter to the White House at 10:30 a.m., a White House official said. Fifteen minutes later, Bob Bauer, the White House counsel, informed the president by telephone.

They have this thing called e-mail now

[Willmore]

They have this thing called e-mail now

And did you see Obama and Medvedev signing papers in Prague? Haven't they heard of e-file?

[Serpico1103]

yes, women are defined
by their sex appeal
what else is there?

no, black men are defined
by their level of
'crime-accomplishment'
ie, how many times imprisoned
Imprisonment is crime failure.

[spoon]

except for scalia


West Caldwell in the HOUSE!

[spoon]

I hope obama appoints a young man to keep liberal justices on the bench as long as possible. I don't like life terms. 20 years would serve the purpose without giving so much power to a president that happens to be in office when justices retire. A SC appointment can be one of the most lasting thing a president does. If souter retired/died just over a year ago the court would be dramatically different. It makes the retirement a political decision, or appear so.

I agree here 100% and think it should be 10 years max. I know there are negatives to this idea as well, but I'd LOVE to keep the SC more vibrant, youthful and on top of the time in which they live. The world simply has or will pass most of these people by and they'll still be making HUGE choices for all of us.

[spoon]

He was just showing his hatred of women. Implying that 2 women equal 1 man.

ha!

makes sense...unless we're talking about ms. snoogans or madam kevin

[A.J.]

I hope obama appoints a young man to keep liberal justices on the bench as long as possible. I don't like life terms. 20 years would serve the purpose without giving so much power to a president that happens to be in office when justices retire. A SC appointment can be one of the most lasting thing a president does. If souter retired/died just over a year ago the court would be dramatically different. It makes the retirement a political decision, or appear so.

I feel the same way about Popes.

[spoon]

I feel the same way about Popes.

Just flat out get rid of those. Yet I do love myself a nice pope hat! :devil2:

[WRESTLINGFAN]

I am happy our theocracy, with the kenyan sun god obama at the helm.

C'mon Barry be like your hero FDR and try to stack the court

[WRESTLINGFAN]

Just flat out get rid of those. Yet I do love myself a nice pope hat! :devil2:

I got dibs on the Popemobile

[Willmore]

I agree here 100% and think it should be 10 years max. I know there are negatives to this idea as well, but I'd LOVE to keep the SC more vibrant, youthful and on top of the time in which they live. The world simply has or will pass most of these people by and they'll still be making HUGE choices for all of us.

I'm telling you, with 10 years, it doesn't work. A presidency, which 90% of the time is an 8 year term means that a president would appoint 7-8 justices per presidency, out of 9. Now, if Bush had that power, then his power would not have been curbed, as it was on the detainee issue and a lot of other things. A judge that relies on political patronage for a continued career can not be trusted to write decisions based on law and their opinion of the law. Whatever one might say about Scalia, or Breyer, or Ginsburg, or Alito, they write and decide based on their opinion, not the opinion of the political party they might support, or has appointed them.

Now, it might be prudent to maybe set an 80 year old mandatory retirement age, but if you do, you don't allow a justice to set his retirement age, and retire under the presidency he prefers. The justices are 9 incredibly smart people who have the utmost respect for the institution they represent. The current system works, and no better one has yet been developed that would keep the checks and balances in the American system of government unhindered.

[spoon]

I got dibs on the Popemobile

Dammit! :wallbash:

[spoon]

I'm telling you, with 10 years, it doesn't work. A presidency, which 90% of the time is an 8 year term means that a president would appoint 7-8 justices per presidency, out of 9. Now, if Bush had that power, then his power would not have been curbed, as it was on the detainee issue and a lot of other things. A judge that relies on political patronage for a continued career can not be trusted to write decisions based on law and their opinion of the law. Whatever one might say about Scalia, or Breyer, or Ginsburg, or Alito, they write and decide based on their opinion, not the opinion of the political party they might support, or has appointed them.

Now, it might be prudent to maybe set an 80 year old mandatory retirement age, but if you do, you don't allow a justice to set his retirement age, and retire under the presidency he prefers. The justices are 9 incredibly smart people who have the utmost respect for the institution they represent. The current system works, and no better one has yet been developed that would keep the checks and balances in the American system of government unhindered.

All great points and I take back my 10 year idea fully, yet there has to be some age/limit put into place but I'm admittedly not the expert on this topic. I'm fully fascinated by it, but am not very well read on the subject. Even so, it's easy to see the issues at hand with our current system, as well as it's advantages.

[Willmore]

I got dibs on the Popemobile

Eh.

I got dibs on the bling

http://www.hyscience.com/archives/Pope20Benedict20XVI_1.jpg

and the shoes

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_d_rbOBApS8o/S1NitEpU9CI/AAAAAAAAAiY/yPQxrIAEvXA/s400/pope%27s_gammarelli_red_shoes_benedictus_xvi.jpg

[Serpico1103]

10 years is too short.20, 25 years works o think. Justices can retire under any presidency they want, but it prevents the possibility of having the same 9 people have 1/3 the government for 50± years.
WF- I hope barry expands the court to 42 (the number of presidents we had, until obama converts us to a theocracy). Scalia won't have a problem, its constitutional.

[WRESTLINGFAN]

10 years is too short.20, 25 years works o think. Justices can retire under any presidency they want, but it prevents the possibility of having the same 9 people have 1/3 the government for 50± years.
WF- I hope barry expands the court to 42 (the number of presidents we had, until obama converts us to a theocracy). Scalia won't have a problem, its constitutional.

Make it a 14 year term. Thats what the Fed reserve bd of governors has. When this country becomes a theocracy it will be Islam as state religion which Barry wants :thumbdown:

[keithy_19]

I got dibs on the Popemobile

I get dibs on the Popemobile after you inevitably crash it.

[WRESTLINGFAN]

I get dibs on the Popemobile after you inevitably crash it.

Depending on how much of that holy Vatican wine i swig before taking it for a spin around St Peters sq. :clap:

[spoon]

Depending on how much of that holy Vatican wine i swig before taking it for a spin around St Peters sq. :clap:

ha, ur gonna get hottubbbbbed!

[Serpico1103]

Make it a 14 year term. Thats what the Fed reserve bd of governors has. When this country becomes a theocracy it will be Islam as state religion which Barry wants :thumbdown:
14 might work. More than 3 presidential terms.
Islam is the only true religion. Everything else is mythology. Alakem salam(sp).

[Crispy123]

Make it a 14 year term. Thats what the Fed reserve bd of governors has. When this country becomes a theocracy it will be Islam as state religion which Barry wants :thumbdown:

Hey, Barry HUSSEIN Obama is going to turn us into socialists by cutting funds for DOD & NASA, privatizing the space industry and having people buy insurance from private companies, and as we all know socialism and communism lend themselves to atheism.

[A.J.]

Hey, Barry HUSSEIN Obama is going to turn us into socialists by cutting funds for DOD & NASA, privatizing the space industry and having people buy insurance from private companies, and as we all know socialism and communism lend themselves to atheism.

Well, there's ONE thing to look forward to.

[spoon]

Well, there's ONE thing to look forward to.

HEY!

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QE66xQrW-hYLSM:http://library.thinkquest.org/26223/images/raa.gif

[WRESTLINGFAN]

14 might work. More than 3 presidential terms.
Islam is the only true religion. Everything else is mythology. Alakem salam(sp).

Any group outlawing bacon and booze is a cult

[Willmore]

Any group outlawing bacon and booze is a cult

Not to mention fucking starving, who can live without bacon?

[WRESTLINGFAN]

Muslims thats why everybody hates them

[Serpico1103]

Any group outlawing bacon and booze is a cult
Misreading the koran. It encourages bacon and booze. Booze soaked bacon is mandatory on holy days. All hail glorious obama.

[Willmore]

Misreading the torah. It encourages bacon and booze. Booze soaked bacon is mandatory on holy days. All hail glorious obama.

All religion is fucked up. One doesn't allow bacon, another doesn't allow burgers, a third says you can't have meat on certain days or bread on other days. It's fucking idiocy.

[Serpico1103]

All religion is fucked up. One doesn't allow bacon, another doesn't allow burgers, a third says you can't have meat on certain days or bread on other days. It's fucking idiocy.
I thought about that nonesense but let it go. They don't eat pork because it's dirty. But I think we now know that pigs are actually cleaner than other livestock. They don't play in shit like other animals will. But big surprise that novels written 2000 years ago have factual errors.

[A.J.]

All religion is fucked up. One doesn't allow bacon, another doesn't allow burgers, a third says you can't have meat on certain days or bread on other days. It's fucking idiocy.

And yet apples are OK -- even though God said not to touch them.

[StanUpshaw]

And yet apples are OK -- even though God said not to touch them.

The old testament doesn't make any distinction about what kind of fruit it was. An apple is a common artistic representation, that's all.

[Willmore]

The old testament doesn't make any distinction about what kind of fruit it was. An apple is a common artistic representation, that's all.

In reality, the fruit referred to cunny.

[Dude!]

In reality, the fruit referred to cunny.

i thought that Steve
was the fruit
in the garden of eden

[StanUpshaw]

In reality, the fruit referred to cunny.

So Eve ate her own puss? That's quite a feat!

[WRESTLINGFAN]

Kennedy not going anywhere. Obamas dream of getting another gelatinous unmarried woman to the bench has been crushed. Even though Kennedy is a swing vote, He's not too happy about this


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/07/06/2010-07-06_holdin_court_at_73_justice_kennedy_tells_pals_h es_not_retiring_for_years__thats_.html

[Dude!]

Kennedy not going anywhere. Obamas dream of getting another gelatinous unmarried woman to the bench has been crushed. Even though Kennedy is a swing vote, He's not too happy about this


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/07/06/2010-07-06_holdin_court_at_73_justice_kennedy_tells_pals_h es_not_retiring_for_years__thats_.html

Justice Kennedy belongs
on Mt. Rushmore!

[epo]

Kennedy not going anywhere. Obamas dream of getting another gelatinous unmarried woman to the bench has been crushed. Even though Kennedy is a swing vote, He's not too happy about this


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/07/06/2010-07-06_holdin_court_at_73_justice_kennedy_tells_pals_h es_not_retiring_for_years__thats_.html

A. Why the fuck would a 74 year old NOT quitting be news?

B. Why the fuck did you put it in a thread about Justice Stevens?

[Dude!]

B. Why the fuck did you put it in a thread about Justice Stevens?

had he started a new
Justice Kennedy thread
the idiot mods here
would have merged it
into this thread anyway

[epo]

had he started a new
Justice Kennedy thread
the idiot mods here
would have merged it
into this thread anyway

Liar.

[Dude!]

Liar.

you're the liar

[epo]

you're the liar

Liar.

[Dude!]

Liar.

you're the liar

[WRESTLINGFAN]

Kind of Ironic when one of the banners on top was to say no to Kagans confirmation

[Willmore]

Kind of Ironic when one of the banners on top was to say no to Kagans confirmation

Listen to Alanis Morissette much?