So Long, Souter

Supreme Court Justice David Souter's retirement, reportedly, will occur at the end of the court's current term. Two things about Souter, a fairly reliable liberal vote on the closely divided court, I am extremely grateful for:

• He did not feel compelled to share the ideology of the president who nominated him
• He didn't retire last year

Souter is rather young for a Supreme Court Justice. He's not even 70 yet, making him the youngest liberal on the court. Justice John Paul Stevens is 89. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 76. Stephen Breyer is 70.

Craig Crawford has an interesting article about Souter's independent streak rearing it's head at his confirmation hearings.

According to Jefferey Toobin (via Wikipedia), Souter was profoundly changed by Bush v. Gore:

Toughened, or coarsened, by their worldly lives, the other dissenters could shrug and move on, but Souter couldn’t. His whole life was being a judge. He came from a tradition where the independence of the judiciary was the foundation of the rule of law. And Souter believed Bush v. Gore mocked that tradition. His colleagues’ actions were so transparently, so crudely partisan that Souter thought he might not be able to serve with them anymore. Souter seriously considered resigning. For many months, it was not at all clear whether he would remain as a justice. That the Court met in a city he loathed made the decision even harder. At the urging of a handful of close friends, he decided to stay on, but his attitude toward the Court was never the same. There were times when David Souter thought of Bush v. Gore and wept.

Seems like it's not a far leap to say that Souter decided in the wake of Bush v. Gore that he would not allow the beneficiary of the case he considered to be nothing short of the bane of American Justice to fill his seat on the court. I find that deeply touching.

It's way too early to start predicting who the White House will choose. I think it's almost politically mandatory that a woman get the next seat. I only ask that when the administration makes its choice that they take a look at the person's tax records with the Hubble Telescope. After Daschle, Geithner and several other fully or partially botched nominations, the White House has to show that it can vet properly.