The Supreme Court after the Upcoming Elections – An Analysis [View all]

[CajunBlazer]

When I wrote the blog post below on this situation in July of last year, I had no idea that this issue would become this prevalent this soon. I believed at the time that we would be dealing with retirements and/or deaths of the Supreme Court Justices during the next President's first term, or more certainly during his/her second term.

However, since I find it almost impossible to believe that the Republican controlled Senate will confirm President Obama's nominee if that person is a true progressive, I think that it is entirely likely that the first task of the next President will be to choose Justice Scalia's replacement.

Even if President Obama is successful in having his nominee confirmed, that is unlikely to be the end of the Supreme Court drama. Scalia at 80 was only the second oldest Justice on the Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be 83 when the next President takes office and will be 91 if she remains on the court for the next eight years. Anthony Kennedy is also 80 and Stephen Breyer will be 78 by the time the next President takes the oath of office. It is entirely possible that one or more of the current Justices will be gone from the court in the next four years, and even more likely in the next eight.

This is why is so important that we choose the right nominee.

The following my analysis of the situation the next President will face:

The Supreme Court after the Upcoming Elections – An Analysis