Justice David Souter is Retiring

After eighteen years on the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice David Souter is retiring. Funny thing about Souter, he was appointed by George Bush Senior because the Republicans were unsure whether Kenneth Starr would be conservative enough [insert sad chuckle and long sigh here]. But, as is the case with many justices once they assend to the Bench, their jurisprudence tends to skew left. At the end of his SCOTUS career, Justice Souter was realiably one of the "Liberal Four" justices.




Although he will be missed, I am eager to see who President Obama will nominate. My dream nomination would be Leah Ward Sears. She is under the age of fifty-five and has a long history as the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. To fit with Obama's desire to nominate someone with 'empathy' her decisions have shown insight, fairness and insightfulness.

It would be wonderful to have another woman on the Bench and even better to have a woman of colour. Of course, the process of nominating and vetting potential justice nominees needs at least one Republican vote, so Sears may prove difficult to "sell" to Republicans. On the other hand, any Obama nominee will receive violent pushback from the Right, so why not Sears?