From an article dated 10/20/2008: Stevens has served the longest of the nine, and by next July he will have completed 34 years, only five justices ever recorded serving longer. (He is threatening the record in this obscure competition, which was set by the justice whose seat he took in 1975, William O. Douglas, who served more than 36 years.) Because of his age and length of service, Stevens is widely considered the most likely to step down, followed by Ginsburg. Both happen to be judicial liberals on a Court that has four liberals (Breyer and Souter being the other two) and four judicial conservatives (Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts). The fickle Kennedy tends to provide the fifth vote in close cases, particularly those involving abortion, race, and religion.
- John Paul Stevens, 88
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75
- Antonin Scalia, 72
- Anthony Kennedy, 72
- Stephen Breyer, 70
- David Souter, 69
- Clarence Thomas, 60
- Samuel Alito, 58
- John Roberts (the chief justice), 53
Souter has announced his upcoming retirement. What does this mean? Will President Obama have the opportunity to nominate three justices during his term in office?
fnord
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 