It is being reported that David Souter has notified the White House that he will step down from the Supreme Court this summer. If that report is true, Barack Obama will have an early opportunity to move the Court to the left–even farther left than Souter, that is.
At one time I would have expected Obama to exercise caution with his first Court appointment, but nothing we’ve seen in the last three months justifies that expectation. If Obama goes hard left, we could be in for the most interesting Congressional action of his young administration.
PAUL adds: Obama has unearthed, and nominated for high office, lawyers who probably are to the left of Souter. Dawn Johnsen and Harold Koh come to mind. But it’s not clear to me that either would vote much differently than Souter in cases that the Supreme Court actually hears.
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