Okay, that's a bit melodramatic, but it really could be a dark day for the Supreme Court.
I hadn't expected Justice O'Connor to retire now actually. I'd heard rumors that she was planning to stay on to see if she could get named as the first female Chief Justice. Not that it was her sole motivation, but I thought she'd planned on staying on a while longer. I had instead expected to hear that Rehnquist was retiring.
O'Connor's opinions are consistently some of the most well written of any of the justices on the Court currently. I've for the most part agreed with her stands on various issues. I very much admire the fact that she seemed to take a very moderate stance on most issues. I know that many fear that women's issues have been dealt a severe blow. They forget about Ginsburg though. However, Ginsburg is also getting on in years and her health isn't so good. There's a possibility she will be leaving in the near future as well.
I think history will view the current Court as one of the most powerful in the history of jurisprudence. This Court has almost singlehandedly revived the notion of favoring states' rights over a centralized federal government control.
We'll have to see who Bush nominates. I don't have a good feeling about this though. Then again, you never know with the Supreme Court. Past nominees haven't exactly fallen in with what political affiliations might indicate. Justice Kennedy is a prime example of this. He was nominated and appointed by Regan in the belief that he would help swing the Court right. Ironically enough, he's voted very liberally. Republicans have talked pointedly about avoiding having another Kennedy appointed.
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