Presidential race may leave lasting imprint on Supreme Court

[bemildred]

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is not on the ballot in November, but its future direction on issues such as abortion, gay rights, gun rights, voting laws and the role of money in politics depends on who is elected president for the next four years.

The justices, who open their annual term Monday, are closely split along ideological lines. The current court has four liberals appointed by Democrats, four conservatives appointed by Republicans, and a centrist Republican in 76-year-old Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

The court's makeup means that a President Mitt Romney could tip the court decisively to the right if he were to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 79, with a conservative. Similarly, a reelected President Obama could tilt the court to the left if he were to replace Kennedy or Justice Antonin Scalia, 76, with a liberal.

"A change in the ideology of only one justice could have a profound impact on the course of constitutional law," said professor Geoffrey Stone at the University of Chicago Law School, where Obama formerly taught. An Obama win "could bring about a significant — and in my view, healthy — change in the direction of the court," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-election-20120930,0,3145872.story

[Botany]

1. big changes

Ginsburg is 79 and will retire
Scalia and Kennedy are 76
roberts is 57 but might have some kind of medical condition
and thomas is a very old 64 and should be removed because
of conflict of interest "things"

[brewens]

2. I wouldn't expect Obama to nominate a real liberal for sure. One thing is

that a moderate judge would be acceptable to a lot of us. That's not the case with Republicans. They will insist on a hard core right-winger and they'll get it too.

All the more reason to scream for a liberal justice when we get the chance. Of course what the right would consider liberal is any justice that would be willing to make an impartial call.