Rehnquist may retire by '03, court observers say - Age, politics could lead to chief justice's exit

Associated Press ^ | September 22, 2002 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Rehnquist may retire by '03, court observers say

Age, accomplishments and politics could lead to chief justice's exit

09/22/2002

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist is 77, has been on the job for more than three decades and has a bad back, so retiring to read, write and work on his tennis swing would seem reasonable. But for Justice Rehnquist, the prospect of retirement is fraught with political consequences.

Retirement rumors have swirled around Justice Rehnquist for several years, and the judge is keeping his thoughts on the subject to himself.

But age, accomplishment and politics may combine to persuade him to make his exit, possibly after the upcoming term ends in June, say Supreme Court observers.

"Chief Justice Rehnquist's interests beyond the court are varied and dear to him, and I wouldn't be surprised if in the not-distant future he decided to pursue those interests," said Charles Cooper, a Washington lawyer who once served as a law clerk to Justice Rehnquist.

Justice Rehnquist has passed his 30th anniversary on the court, more than half that time spent as chief justice.

Once a lone ranger on the right, filing fierce dissents to his colleagues' often liberal rulings, Justice Rehnquist is now the arbiter of the court's increasingly conservative outlook.

"If the chief justice ends his term on the court this year, he will already have established himself as one of the three most important chief justices in history," said Walter Dellinger, a former chief Supreme Court lawyer for the Clinton administration.

If Justice Rehnquist leaves, Mr. Bush could choose to name a replacement from the remaining eight justices and then fill the vacant seat with an outsider. Only two sitting justices are considered candidates for the top job:

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman named to the high court when President Ronald Reagan picked her in 1981. She has said her age - 72 - makes the notion of an elevation to chief far-fetched.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, also a Reagan pick, in 1988. Considered a long shot, in part because many of Mr. Bush's conservative advisers resent his views on such issues as school prayer.

None of the justices has hinted at retirement, but advancing age and politics may persuade at least one to leave soon.

If that happens, the White House already has a list of potential replacements. Lawyers and law professors who watch the court have their own list. Among their picks:

Al Gonzales, Mr. Bush's White House counsel and the man in charge of making the White House list.

J. Harvie Wilkinson, the chief judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va.

J. Michael Luttig, a junior judge on the 4th Circuit appeals court.

Samuel Alito Jr., named to the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals by Mr. Bush's father.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/nation/stories/092202dnnatscotus.54b1.html

[MeekOneGOP]

All the more reason the GOP needs to take back the Senate.

[kim r.]

amen to that!

[FF578]

Taking the senate is VITAL!!! The rats will do anything to block a conservative Supreme Court Judge. They have already shot down two Appeals Court Nominees, they will do far worse to a Supreme Court Justice.

IT IS VITAL, VITAL!!!! That we take the senate out of Rat hands.

[caltrop]

If true, I think this is terrible news. I doubt Bush will name Scalia or Thomas to replace him as Chief Justice and Gonzales, my guess for Bush's first appointment, won't be anywhere near as conservative a vote.

[NativeNewYorker]

This explains the hit piece on him today's Times.

[deport]

If Justice Rehnquist leaves, Mr. Bush could choose to name a replacement from the remaining eight justices and then fill the vacant seat with an outsider. Only two sitting justices are considered candidates for the top job:

Possible that President Bush would nominate from the existing Justices but not required.......

That person may come from the ranks of the current sitting associate justices, as it did when President Reagan named sitting justice William Rehnquist to be Chief Justice in 1986. However, that has occurred only three times in our history, so the norm is that the president appoints someone not currently on the Court to fill a vacancy. A president will never automatically appoint the most senior justice on the Court to the Chief Justice position, and that has happened only once (Harlan Fiske Stone by FDR).

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VOTE REPUBLICAN NOV. 5, 2002

Take back the Senate
Retain the House

[American Soldier]

If you want good judges, look beyond Harvard and Yale to at least the University of Chicago! Harvard and Yale have turned good conservative friends of mine into moderates or worse! Chicago reliably produces solid conservative intellectuals.

[Cicero]

Typically, AP names its own two candidates for the job, and deliberately fails to mention Scalia or Thomas. Either of them would be a great Chief Justice. Thomas knows less law than he might for the job, but he is philosophically sound. Earl Warren had no legal background when Eisenhower appointed him.

Whoever leads the court will have plenty of brilliant young legal minds to advise him, and need only be firm in applying the direction. If the Republicans win the Senate, then Bush should start moving on this ASAP. Rehnquist won't get any younger, and even with a Republican majority in the Senate it will be a huge battle.

[NEPA]

Had Jeffords not jumped in '01, I think there would have been retirements in '01 and/or '02. I do believe Rehnquist and O'Connor are waiting for the Senate to change hands but they won't wait too much longer.

[Bubba_Leroy]

I would sure like for Bush to name Thomas as the replacement for Rehnquist. Let the democRATs block the first African American ever nominated to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

[j271]

Politically, nominating Thomas could split the black liberal monolith and put an end to their decades-long support for the Democrats.

If Bush played the race card with the Thomas nomination, could the liberals fight it? What would Jesse and Al do?

Their best defense would likely be to drag out the same old NAACP/NOW/Anita Hill smear campaign they tried the first time.

[MeekOneGOP]

If the Republicans win the Senate, then Bush should start moving on this ASAP. Rehnquist won't get any younger, and even with a Republican majority in the Senate it will be a huge battle.

ASAP is right.

And it's a battle well worth fighting. With Senate control in the hands of the GOP,
tiny tommy da$$hole can go sit in the corner and whine, but that's about it.

Scalia is a great choice, imho......

[VOA]

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist is 77, has been on the job for more than three
decades and has a bad back

Although I pray that Providence will return the US Senate to the Republicans this fall...
maybe we show send the Chief Justice a crate of those heat-activated body-wraps for
back pain...

Now there would be an advertisement..."When these whining liberal lawyers and
Ginsberg get to be a pain in the backside...I just put on one of these heat-wraps for
hours of pain relief!"

[mrsmith]

"J. Harvie Wilkinson, the chief judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va. "

Although my bet would be on Garza or Gonzales, judge Wilkinson would be a great choice.

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

rehnquist is a legal genius I have read many of his books it would be a great loss but I feel the only choice to replace him is scalia who perhaps is the best legal mind to ever be

[demkicker]

"Scalia is a great choice, imho......"

You read my mind. He's the PERFECT choice.

[Brices Crossroads]

Scalia is a great justice, but he would never be confirmed. Even a demo minority would block him with a filibuster. The best bet is Thomas, a very able man who would be confirmed because of the Democrats' cowardice. At 54, Thomas could be Chief for 20-25 years. Not a bad thought, that.

[nicollo]

Guys, your enthusiasm for the "first African American ever nominated to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court" is well and good... but you're forgetting that Thomas is a black traitor, a pariah.

Thomas in the Chief's chair would be marvelous. It'd sho' help the DNC raise money, but it's a trade worth every penny of liberal hypocricy.

Politics aside, Thomas would make a great CJ, for he has the character, the conviction, and, most importantly, the quietude of a great CJ.

[BlackRazor]

Excuse my ignorance, but I have a practical question. Exactly what powers/responsibilities does the Chief Justice have, over and above those of the other justices?

[weikel]

LOL