Ginsburg:I'm sticking around

[bigdarryl]

I hope her health is holding up if I'm not mistaken she is in her eighties making her one of the oldest on the court http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3545678/

[elleng]

1. Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg was born March 15, 1933.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg

'Ginsburg was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During the process, she did not miss a day on the bench.[33] On February 5, 2009, she again underwent surgery related to pancreatic cancer.[34] Ginsburg's tumor was discovered at an early stage.[34] Ginsburg was released from a New York City hospital, eight days after the surgery and heard oral arguments again four days later.

On September 24, 2009, Ginsburg was hospitalized in Washington DC for lightheadedness following an outpatient treatment for iron deficiency and was released the following day

She expressed a wish to emulate Justice Louis Brandeis, who retired at 82,[36] an age that Ginsburg would attain in 2015.'



Many who know her 'testify' that she is in good health, and is conscientious about taking care of her health. She has a 'fitness adviser,' with whom she works twice a week.

I heard this discussed on C-SPAN, and I think it was Joan Biskupic who mentioned this. Biskupic wrote the article huffpo quoted. She is an American journalist, author, and lawyer who has covered the United States Supreme Court since 1989. She has been the Legal Affairs Correspondent for USA Today since June 2000.

[Tx4obama]

2. And on the issue of tenure

Excerpt from the OP link:

-snip-

She has previously said she wanted her tenure to at least match the nearly 23 years of Justice Louis Brandeis, which would get her to April 2016, and said she had a new "model" in Justice Stevens, who retired at age 90 after nearly 35 years on the bench.

-snip-

---

Justice Louis Brandeis was on the Supreme Court of the United States from June 1, 1916 – February 13, 1939 - 22 years, 8 months, 2 weeks

Justice Ginsburg has been on the Supreme Court since August 10, 1993. As of today: 19 years, 10 months
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Supreme_Court_Justice#Current_justices

So, if she wants to beat his tenure then she couldn't retire until the end of April 2016

That would still leave enough time for President Obama's to appoint a new justice and get him/her confirmed before he leaves office January 20, 2017.

I really do hope she considers retiring in 2016 - because if a republican takes the White House we will be screwed!

[tritsofme]

7. There is no guarantee Senate Republicans would allow Obama to fill such a late vacancy

That would be right in the thick of the presidential primaries, where several Republican senators may be running.

Do not put it past Republicans to stall on any court vacancy in 2016, especially if they control the Senate.

[BillyRibs]

14. In Your Dreams,

The POTUS would nominate a "centrist" Just he was told to do.

[11 Bravo]

30. Are you displeased with the two justices he actually DID nominate, or ...

is it just more fun to attack him for something which he hasn't done, but which you claim he might do?

[xtraxritical]

17. She's smart to wait and see how the mid-terms play out.

I think the President probably encourages her to wait to retire.

[tritsofme]

20. Disagree. It's a gamble. From a political perspective the best time for her to retire is either now

which is not to happen, or the last opportunity before the midterms which is next June, this also seems unlikely.

If Republicans take the Senate in 2014, a not unlikely scenario, the president would be in a much weaker position with his pick. And if the vacancy occurs in 2016, as I said, I would expect Republicans to attempt to wait Obama out. This doesn't leave much time for Ginsberg to have Obama appoint her replacement.

Now saying all that, Ginsberg could remain on the bench another 10-15 years, making this whole discussion moot, but this is the political reality for the Obama administration.

[Wabbajack_]

27. Oh you bet they'd fillibuster

count on it.

[BanTheGOP]

3. While I like Kagan and Sotamayor, Obama should have gone Millennial on his picks

Obama should have picked brilliant progressive late-20 or early-30-something justices when he had his chance for this very reason. Now, if the immigration bill passes, that will ensure we have enough democrats to rout the rethugs in 2016, especially since we will get the House and possibly the super-majority back. In addition, Ginsburg is a "youthful" 80. Her injuries healed as easily and without complications as if she were in her thirties or even twenties thanks to her physical regiman, and I have no qualms about her lasting at least 10 or even 20 more years on the bench.

However, Obama had the chance to literally install two justices who could serve at least 50 years, which would guarantee the transformation of America from capitalist to globalist socialist would be cast in steel, along with either the legal or pragmatic end of the original constitutional morass originated by our white slave-holding founding fathers. This was key, not understanding that by putting progressives in the federal judiciaries, we could have prevented the rethug's last hopes at maintaining any semblance of control.

[former9thward]

5. What? Late 20 or early 30 something?

You don't get out of law school until you are about 25. There is no one in the country qualified to be on the SC in that age range. It takes many years to build up a record which would allow you to be confirmed.

[whistler162]

6. Shhhhh..... dpn't interrupt the delusional

Obama hate.

[TM99]

10. Wait don't you know?

All Millennials are 'special snowflakes' with wisdom and talents far beyond their age, education, and experience.

[MillennialDem]

11. Stop the Millennial bashing.

[TM99]

12. It isn't bashing.

All Generations get their fair share of humorous flack due to stereotypes that have some basis in reality.

The post above was illustrative of that very stereotype.

I am Generation X. Trust me I have gotten my fair share over the years.

[nyquil_man]

15. The youngest ever was Joseph Story, who was 32. That was 200 years ago. nt

[former9thward]

16. Yes, unfortunately maturity levels have decreased significantly since then.

A 32 year old now has the maturity of someone who was 12-17 200 years ago. Subtract about 15 years from the age of someone living right now will give you a rough approximation to someone living in the 19th century.

[Tx4obama]

8. Huh?

You think Ginsburg could serve another 20 years on the bench? Ginsburg would then be 100 years old.

If you really think THAT then... Kagan could possibly serve 50 years on the bench - since Kagan was only 50 yrs old when she was appointed to the Supreme Court. 50 + 50 = 100

But NO. There will be NO Justice that is 100 years old on the bench - the work load is too much for someone of that age.

And anyone that is in their 20s or 30s does not have enough knowledge and/or life experience to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
I believe that the Senate would NEVER confirm anyone under the age of 40.

Clarence Thomas was 43 yrs old when appointed to the SCOTUS - he holds the record for 'youngest appointment age' of the current Justices.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States#Current_justices

I believe any future Obama appointments will be between the ages of 48 and 55.

[BanTheGOP]

9. There are always geniuses in every field

My contention is that the Supreme Court justices do not have to be judges. They don't even have to be LAWYERS or, for that sake, passed any bar in the country. There are examples of 19- to 21-year old judges whom are voted in office, for instance, in some smaller towns. I do acknowledge, however, that most such geniuses would in fact have passed the bar, and have several papers to show how they would adjudicate.

Confirmation is obviously a big concern, but remember: we are talking the best of the best when it comes to knowing the law, and even though they don't have decades of experience, they have the technical and the pragmatic know-how of working the ins and outs of judicial activism, particularly if they've been consistently progressive in their work both in school and in the few years after practice.

Keep in mind I would rather have an inexperienced progressive than an experienced nazi/rethug judge. Obama would have easily made the case in front of a super-majority senate. In addition, he should have gone to the same super-majority senate to put together legislation to increase the bench to 13 or even 15 justices. While FDR failed at this attempt in the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, the senate was far more progressive and more likely to pass such legislation along with a comfortable majority in the house. Along with the Affordable Care Act, this would have been absolute genius on Obama's part.

[fujiyama]

24. LOL a 20 or 30-something year old?

Kagan is the youngest serving on the court right now - and she's 50. It does take something called experience to get to the top of your profession. And since SC justices are typically chosen from Federal Appeals and Circuit courts, the youngest SC justice I could realistically see being confirmed would be in his or her early to mid 40's. The youngest Appeals court judge appointed was 35 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Kozinski

[pnwmom]

29. A "youthful 80" with a history of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal.

Right.

[Cali_Democrat]

4. Ugh...

[BlueStater]

13. I understood why JPS stuck around.

Chimp-boy was president at the time so obviously he had to stay. As soon as Obama got in, he stepped down.

But there's no excuse for this. She's putting the country at unnecessary risk here.

[xtraxritical]

18. "...putting the country at unnecessary risk..."

The Democrats have a very good chance to expand their seats in both chambers of the Congress in the 2014 mid-term elections. If she waits until then the Presidents appointment will probably have a much easier go in the Senate confirmations. She's doing the right and smart thing, especially for the country.

[mgcgulfcoast]

19. she needs to leave soon

that way the president can replace her. no harm done.

[BlueDemKev]

21. Ginsburg and Breyer need to retire ASAP

So that Obama can replace them with young liberal judges who will be on the court for as long as Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy will be.

If either of them waits until after the 2016 election, and we lose that election, the court will have a 6-3 or maybe even a 7-2 conservative majority. And you can bet your bottom dollar that Scalia and Kennedy will be bailing out before the 2020 elections and will be replaced by right-wing judges as young as Clarence Thomas was when he was appointed.

[Myrina]

23. Agreed 100%

What are they thinking??

[BlueDemKev]

25. One, they probably enjoy their jobs...

...and Two, they don't want to look like partisan hacks.

[polichick]

22. Reminds me of the Queen.

[BeyondGeography]

26. Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought Stevens

would have retired if Gore had made it to the WH and he hung on to keep the seat away from the Right. If so, not exactly the role model Ginsburg is seeking to emulate.

[pnwmom]

28. And she's had one of the most lethal forms of cancer, pancreatic cancer.

I guess her ego is as big as some of the others who have clung to that office.

[zeeland]

31. Good luck with that Ginsburg.

Of course they kept Cheney alive with a pump unavailable to 99% of us
and given a transplanted heart even though he was over the age of consideration.

Anything is possible with the healthcare they have available to them.