Obama to pick Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court

Here's a profile:

http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Sonia_Sotomayor

They've had nothing to focus on because Obama (as predicted by many on this board) has merely continued their policies.

Although she has some controversy associated with her, I think one of the reasons Obama may have picked her is because not only does it make history by picking the first Hispanic, it makes it politically awkward for the Repubs to oppose her too hard without alienating voters (Hispanics are the largest minority in the U.S. and the Repubs need their votes to survive).

Who else do you think will leave, Josh? Ginsburg is getting on in years and has had some health issues, I believe, so she may be next to go. Of course, she's a liberal so her departure and replacement wouldn't shift the balance much. Roberts and Alito are new and young and, barring health problems, aren't going anywhere for a while. Thomas isn't that old. Scalia may be getting on in age but is still sharp and loves the job and is ideological enough that if a Democrat is president, he'll never leave. Not sure Obama will have that much opportunity to really shift the courts direction, even if he gets another term.

Here's what I think will happen.  Ginsburg recently had a cancer scare, and has has cancer in the past.  She's nearing 80.  I think she will retire next year.  It's reported that Stevens wants to break Oliver Wendell Holmes's longevity of service record on the Supreme Court.  When the 2011 term end, he will have done so.  Plus, he will break Holmes' record for being the oldest member of the court.  I think he will then retire.

Interesting!  The link in the opening post doesn't work, by the way, josh.  Do you want me to replace it with something else since you can't edit it?

Justice Stevens just turned 89.  It really is getting time for him to go.  It's amazing how different the US and Canadian Supreme Courts are.  We have mandatory retirement on ours at 75 and so there is much more turnover and judges don't stay as long.

In the U.S. since there is no mandatory retirement at 75, judges stay on the court for 30 or 40 years and into their 80's and 90's.

yeah, I was shocked to hear he was that old! i don't think i've ever seen an 89 year old as sharp and healthy as he is.

The alck of mandatory retirement may also be what's driving the trend of younger justices being appointed. A president doesn't want to appoint someone who will retire in 5-10 years. By appointing John Roberts as Chief Justice, Bush will be hsaping the court for at least the next 25...

Seriously? The US media needs to tell its readers how to pronounce Sonia? 

I won't hold me breath to see them start telling readers how to pronounce Alana, or Horace, or Cecil ... 

Pretty unlikely, isn't it, since Obama picked her? Anyways, most Catholics ignore the church's ridiculous teachings on those issues.

On abortion, from Wikipedia:

While this admittedly sounds pretty bad, there isn't actually that much information on Sotomayor's views WRT abortion/privacy rights to be derived from that case. The "equal protection" issue referred to above was directed by the precedent of Rust v. Sullivan (Supreme Court case). The much more interesting question, thus, is what is Sotomayor's opinion of Rust v. Sullivan.

Elena Kagan, one of the other short-listers to replace Souter, has publicly criticized that very decision. It is to be hoped that Sotomayor shares Kagan's view. Incidentally, Souter had joined with the conservatives in Rust v. Sullivan (early on in his tenure, at a time when he frequently sided with the conservatives; this shouldn't be taken as implying that Souter changed his mind about Rust v. Sullivan later on, though—I have no clue if there was any evolution on that front); the dissenters were Blackmun (author of Roe v. Wade), Marshall, Stevens and O'Connor.

(Don't assume from the above that Kagan would have been a better choice than Sotomayor, BTW. She's known to be pretty bad on executive power issues, for one thing. Although, truth be told, we don't actually know much about Sotomayor's views on that subject either...)

The due process claim was denied for lack of standing, so there isn't much substance to be gleaned there either. The dismissal of the First Amendment claim might be more problematic (again, an earlier decision, this time by the 2d Circuit, is said to have dealt with practically the same issue), but knowing almost zilch about US constitutional law, I don't feel qualified to probe it more forcefully.

Who says people don't have a right to have "those beliefs"?  They can have those "beliefs" all they like, and I can believe that those beliefs are "ridiculous" and that holding that "belief" about abortion makes them misogynist fuckwads.  And yes, it's very disrespectful of me indeed.  I have no respect for people who believe they have any right to have input into what I do with my body.  They can keep their stupid, ridiculous theology off my biology.

How do you like them apples?

Watch those abortion rights!

Norma McCorvey, "Jane Roe," Arrested At Sotomayor Hearing

Well said Michelle.

So the NRA is threatening to shoot anyone who votes for Sotomayor. Well not shoot perhaps but to defeat them in their next election. Fortunately politicians are ignoring the NRA, just the way Catholics ignore their churches policies on birth control.

NRA Threatens To Punish Senators Who Vote For Sotomayor... No One Listens