Next Supreme Court Justice? (legal)

Jorge Rivas http://tinyurl.com/y7zs7xq

The Rumors Begin: Obama’s Next Supreme Court Nominee In an interview with The NY Times, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens confirmed rumors that he’s considering retiring. “I do have to fish or cut bait, just for my own personal peace of mind and also in fairness to the process,” he said. “The president and the Senate need plenty of time to fill a vacancy.”

Justice Stevens, who will turn 90 this month, was appointed in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford. Rumors of his retirement escalated when he didn’t hire a full slate of law clerks for the current term. In an interview with USA TODAY in October last year, he said the fact that he had not hired a full staff “can’t be news. I’m not exactly a kid.”

Who will replace Justice Stevens? Naturally a new set of rumors is thriving. Business Week is reporting there are three leading contenders: U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan and federal appellate judges Diane Wood and Merrick Garland.”

The Nation even has a slideshow of their own top choices for the next Supreme Court nominee that is worth a look. They list some of the same predictions mentioned above, but also interesting contenders like John Echohawk who has run the Native American Rights Fund for more than thirty years and who “would bring a perspective to the court that has been overlooked for 230 years.”