I feel that I'm greater than 50% right that the next Supreme Court Justice will be Kathleen Sullivan from Quinn Emmanuel, formerly of Stanford Law.
The reasons why, are as follows:
Here's her bio: Kathleen Sullivan Bio
There's several reasons added in there that make me believe that she's going to be the picked. Formerly, a graduate of Cornell and then Harvard Law School, she went to Oxford and became a Marshall Scholar.
Sullivan then graduated from Harvard Law School in 1981, where her mentor Laurence Tribe called her "the most extraordinary student I had ever had."
Her expertise is primarily in Constitutional Law, just like the President's and Further as this article indicates, Sullivan info, she recruited another prominent progressive, Larry Lessig to Stanford, who has strong ties to Obama.
But there are several primary reasons why she would be a unique pick. She is a lesbian, as noted by others and she even filed amicus briefs to Lawrence v. Texas and Bowers v. Hardwick, two very prominent Gay Rights cases. And, here's the kicker, she even served as a lawyer, personally, to MITCH MCCONNELL. I would dare any republican to vote against her, especially Mr. McConnell.
As a private practice lawyer, Ms. Sullivan has a diverse client list, from Republican Senator Mitch McConnell to the City of Honolulu, ABC Television, Hearst Publications and the San Francisco Chronicle in the BALCO case, and Siebel Systems, to name some of them.
She is perhaps the best intellectually qualified person to replace Justice Souter. Her work, particularly in the New Federalist Papers, reveals a mind able to grasp and explain the interplay between technology, social change, and The Constitution. Kathleen Sullivan is the perfect choice and the fact that she's lesbian should not be an issue for anyone.
There is a small downside to her, in the fact that she failed the bar exam the first time that she had taken it, but I think that she should overcome that by being a former lawyer to Mitch McConnell which I'm sure if she's picked will be heavily noted by the President's team.
UPDATE: Further, upon realization, I can't believe I didn't notice this, but she wrote my textbook (I'm currently in Law School), and this book, "Constitutional Law 16th Edition by Thomson West" is the premier book for most law schools. This just solidifies that she has IMPECCABLE credentials.