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An Independent Thinker On and Off the Court Superme Court Justice David Souter may be little known outside his small circle of friends -- he shied away from the Washington scene and prefers to be in his New Hampshire cabin reading books -- but those who know him or work with him say Souter is a funny man who took serious interest in the law and his work. [Snip] "When you meet the guy you expect to meet some silent Cal Coolidge type of New Englander who talks very little and whatever else goes with that stereotype," said Meir Feder,...

President Obama abruptly interrupted today's White House Press Briefing to "do the job himself" and report his conversation with retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. I was kind of hoping he was going to fire Gibbs on the spot, but then again, I would miss the circus clown in action everyday with the press corps!

Of all the wrongs Maobama has wrought upon our Republic, none, in my opinion, will be as damaging as what is to come with his picks for USSC and Federal Jurists. How are we, as the Paul Revere's of today, going to get the warning out to our elected representatives that this man's choice for USSC, whoever it is, must be stopped!? Oh, and by we I mean all of you who brought down Dan Blather, the UAE Port Deal and Harriet Miers, among others... Or are we just screwed?

Justice David H. Souter formally told the White House on Friday that he will retire from the Supreme Court at the end of the current term in June, a development that stirred intense interest about who his replacement will be and how the change will affect future court rulings on abortion and the balance between personal liberty and national security. President Obama praised Justice Souter and his record on the court, and said he hoped to have a new justice confirmed by the Senate by the time the court reconvenes in October. But before that happens, a vigorous debate in...

News that Supreme Court Justice David Souter will retire in June has set off a maelstrom of speculation as to who will eventually take his place. Here are the names most frequently being mentioned, ranked by frequency. For a breakdown of replacement dynamics and a reported list, see Marc's post. The list takes five sources into account: articles/posts today from CNN, the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal Law Blog, The Los Angeles Times, SCOTUSblog, The BLT (the Blog of the Legal Times), and The Huffington Post's Sam Stein. The two most mentioned candidates are Sonia Sotomayor and Diane Wood,...

Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter has announced his retirement, and so the nation now “braces” for who will succeed him—who His Majesty will nominate. Drum rolls, now. The whole process is such a politically-correct joke. So, who cares, really? For the last half-century, the Supreme Court basically does what they see fit to do, anyway. So, what America really needs to focus on is shoe color and hair style at this point. The days of stare decisis are largely done now. This is kangaroo at its best. Where is Billy Bush? Get that little bugger over to the Supreme...

From a raw political point of view, it's hard to top Sonia Sotomayor to be Obama's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. She's Hispanic, a key group that Obama won over and must keep. She's a woman and, though liberal, was appointed by a Republican. I haven't been able to determine whether she's Catholic, but she's Puerto Rican (most of whom are Catholic) and went to Catholic schools as a child. There already are five Catholics on the court but they're all conservative so they haven't been attacked for being bad Catholics (i.e. being pro-choice despite the church's teaching). But...

WASHINGTON – The announced retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter could result in Barack Obama's nomination of a man who has been an outspoken proponent of tough restriction on gun sales and ownership, a ban on hunting, animal rights and what has been characterized as a "Fairness Doctrine" for the Internet.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama pledged Friday to name a Supreme Court justice who combines "empathy and understanding" with an impeccable legal background to succeed liberal David Souter, whose abrupt retirement announcement set off speculation the next justice could be a woman, a Hispanic or both. Obama, who will be making the first high court nomination by a Democrat in 15 years, pointedly referred to his plan to have "him or her" on the bench in time for the Supreme Court's session that begins the first Monday in October.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Few issues rally conservatives as much as a Supreme Court nomination -- and activists are wasting no time gearing up for a battle. Conservative groups worked into the night Thursday -- after news broke that Justice David Souter would announce his retirement -- to arrange a conference call early Friday morning to talk strategy with representatives of more than 60 groups. Leaders on the call, such as Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network, told colleagues that one of their first challenges would be convincing activists there is a fight to be had. "One thing to keep...

President Obama and Congressional Democrats, in order to please their constituency, must nominate a Supreme Court Justice who is female and who is African American, because Whites, Jews, Catholics, Protestants and Men, have been over represented among the Supremes for nearly 200 years. Gays, as far as we know, have been overlooked so the nominee will also have to be "out." The nominee for Supreme Court Justice Must be Black - To meet PC quota system Must be a Woman, but not feminine Must love abortion more than Kathleen Sebelius Must hate men more than Kelly McGinnis Must be gayer...

Regulatory czar nominee favors gun grab, animal rights, 'Fairness Doctrine' for Net – The announced retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter could result in Barack Obama's nomination of a man who has been an outspoken proponent of tough restriction on gun sales and ownership, a ban on hunting, animal rights and what has been characterized as a "Fairness Doctrine" for the Internet. Cass Sunstein, a law professor friend of the president and his current nominee to be regulatory czar, is on a list of eight possible names, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to replace Souter in an article...

This man whom many called a “stealth candidate”, allegedly getting in under the radar screen because of his manner but “one of us” secretly as some of my colleagues back then insisted, was anything but Pro-Life. He voted to uphold Roe in Panned Parenthood v Casey (1992)... He helped to author these deadly words: “Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt. Yet, 19 years after our holding that the Constitution protects a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy in its early stages, Roe v. Wade (1973), that definition of liberty is still questioned. We are led to conclude...

Hamilton is the worst of Obama's 15 new liberal appeals court appointees. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals covers Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois. Since most cases never reach the Supreme Court, the federal appellate circuits often provide the last word on cases affecting life and liberty. READ THE FACTS: The Judicial Confirmation Network quickly opposed Hamilton's nomination, stating that "President Obama's first nominee to the federal appeals courts -- specifically the appeals court based in Chicago -- is an ultra-liberal named David Hamilton who is a former fundraiser for ACORN and former leader of the Indiana chapter of the ACLU....

For the first time, a U.S. Supreme Court justice is offering some legal insight about the so-called Fairness Doctrine, suggesting the off-the-books policy could be declared unconstitutional if it's revived and brought before the bench. In written discussion on yesterday's ruling cracking down on indecent language on television, Justice Clarence Thomas called the policy "problematic" and a "deep intrusion into the First Amendment rights of broadcasters." The doctrine requiring broadcasters to air opposing viewpoints on controversial issues was brought to an end in the 1980s under the direction of President Ronald Reagan's Federal Communications Commission.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's conservative justices led a sustained attack Wednesday on a key element of the Voting Rights Act, questioning whether one-time bastions of segregation still should be held to account for past discrimination. The justices who were skeptical of that part of the voting rights law included Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose views are likely to prevail on the closely divided court. He tends to side with his more conservative colleagues on matters of race. -snip- The law requires all or parts of 16 states, mainly in the South, with a history of discrimination in voting to...

In August 1999 police saw Rodney Gant pull into the driveway of his Tucson home and arrested him for driving with a suspended license. After handcuffing Gant and locking him in a cruiser, Officer Todd Griffith searched his car, finding a bag of cocaine in the pocket of a jacket on the backseat. When he was asked at an evidentiary hearing why he searched the car, Griffith replied, "Because the law says we can do it."Not anymore. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court said police may no longer routinely search the vehicles of recently arrested people. It was a refreshing...

James Schneller, Plaintiff pro se in Schneller v. Cortes, released the following statement regarding Pennsylvania’s Senator Arlen Specter being appointed as an Elector in the Electoral College: SCOTUS OBAMA CASE NOTES SPECTER’S IMPROPER NOMINATION AS PENNSYLVANIA ELECTOR IN NOVEMBER 2008 ELECTION Wednesday, April 29, 11:20 PM (EST) Contact: Jim Schneller | 610-688-9471 | schnlj@aol.com WASHINGTON, DC - Pennsylvanian James D. Schneller raises in his petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, filed on April 6, 2009, regarding failure of eligibility of Barack Obama for office, the fact that Senator Arlen Specter was appointed as a Pennsylvania...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mich. Gov. Jennifer Granholm is among those possibly considered to replace Justice David Souter who is planning to retire after nearly two decades on the Supreme Court. President Barack Obama's first pick for the high court is likely to be a liberal-leaning nominee, much like Souter. The White House has been told that Souter will retire in June, when the court finishes its work for the summer, a source familiar with his plans said Thursday night. The retirement is likely to take effect only once a successor is confirmed.

President Obama is believed to have had a short list to replace Supreme Court Justices David Souter. Elena Kagan. Deval Patrick. Ruben Castillo. Margaret McKeown. Diane Wood. Pam Karlan. Cass Sunstein.