On the Chris Matthews Show this morning, Howard Fineman of Newsweek, gave a bit of news today. It appears that Justice Stevens is set to retire in 2010. There were rumors that he might, in that he hired only one clerk, but he confirmed it by talking with his former clerks.
Here is a link to the webcast. The information is towards the end of the webcast under "Tell me Something I don't know."
9/13 Webcast of Chris Matthews show
At 90 years of age, Justice John Paul Stevens is going to retire in the Spring of 2010, this was confirmed by Howard Fineman of Newsweek, this morning on the Chris Matthews Show.
The question is who should Obama pick to replace John Paul Stevens. This individual will probably need to be a liberal justice, and the WH is probably batting names around.
Because Obama picked Sotomayor, I see that he basically opened himself up to pick whoever he wants now. There's several options at this point.
Pamela Karlan, Stanford Professor and very strong liberal, very witty and very smart as well. Obama worked with her on Election law information when he was a Professor
Diane Wood, Obama's Chicago alum, worked with Obama while he was also at University of Chicago. May be difficult to get passed through the Senate because of her cases which have dealt with abortion rights.
Elena Kagen, Obama's current Solicitor General, seen as a moderate however, and I can see many liberal senators balking at the choice.
Any other suggestions? Please leave the info below and let's discuss this.
Thanks!
UPDATE: I forgot to notate Harold Koh as another possibility, he just got confirmed at the State department, and he is on the list as well along with Jennifer Granholm as the outside pick.
UPDATE 2: Let me clarify. When it is official, I will notate that information as such and write a diary on it. I see that what was confusing folks was the "confirmed" in the title. I have taken that off. However, what I mean to say is that looking at the evidence, it appears to be a done deal at this point. He's hired only one clerk in 2010, his former clerks are telling reporters he's going to retire, and he officially breaks the record as the oldest sitting Supreme Court Justice next year. It's pretty obvious what's happening. That said, I retract the "confirmed" from my title, because it was misleading.
UPDATE 3: Perhaps that's what they were discussing here