Justice Souter Retiring, Who's Next?

Now that Supreme Court Justice David Souter has announced his impending retirement in June, President Obama is getting a lot of advice from different quarters about what criteria he should use in choosing a successor. Some of his political opposition to the right are already criticizing him before he's even made a decision, this in spite of assurances by the President that he "would appoint a pragmatist, not a radical, to this important position."

Barack Obama was a legal scholar before he became a politician, with his specialty being constitutional law. Were he not President, he himself would be qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. He also understands very clearly the history of the Court, in particular the ongoing philosophical dispute between justices interpreting the Constitution according to its perceived (by them) original intent and justices who regard the Constitution as a living, breathing document that needs to adapt itself to the vastly different society that we live in today. My gut instinct is that Obama will select someone who is liberal, but more in the line of a Stephen Breyer or a John Paul Stevens instead of previous judicial "activists" like William Brennan or William Douglas.

Also figuring heavily in the President's appointment is whether he will select a woman or a minority to fill the upcoming vacancy. I've heard some stating that it would be sexist to simply choose a woman for the seat because of her gender. But the Supreme Court needs to be representative of the society at large, and the legal profession is no longer dominated by men as before. There is another consideration mitigating in favor of Obama choosing a woman.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only woman currently serving on the Supreme Court, is having serious health problems as she is fighting cancer. It may be possible that she is only staying on the Court because she is the only woman on it. Having another woman as a Supreme Court Justice might allow her to retire with her mind more at ease. If this is so, then President Obama's first two Supreme Court appointments may both be women. And that's all right with me.

Will the Supreme Court's newest addition be also a Latino or an African-American? Will the appointee be an experienced appeals court judge with a long history of past decisions and opinions? Or perhaps a judge with a record too short and limited to gage his/her views on hot-button issues? Or perhaps could it be a legal scholar from a law school? Or maybe a politician (as Earl Warren, Charles E. Hughes, and William H. Taft were)? The trend lately has been to tap the pool of appeals court judges for the Supreme Court. But Obama has laid down some subtle hints that he may broaden his scope in search for the best candidate. I wish him great success. I only hope that he finally will choose someone without tax problems (as some of his cabinet selections have experienced)!