david souter retires

I don't claim to know too much about constitutional law, and I would further admit that 90% of what I know about the current Supreme Court justices comes from reading Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine (which I highly recommend). It's probably not very surprising that Souter was one of my favorites (I'm certainly more liberal when it comes to constitutional matters than when it comes to, say, fiscal matters). I'll leave it to Ezra Klein to bid him a fond farewell, and speculate on whether term limit for Supreme Court justices might be a good idea. Meanwhile, I'll quote from Souter's furious, passionate dissent in Bush v. Gore as tribute to his impressive career.

What must underlie petitioners' entire federal assault on the Florida election procedures is an unstated lack of confidence in the impartiality and capacity of the state judges who would make the critical decisions if the vote count were to proceed. Otherwise, their position is wholly without merit. The endorsement of that position by the majority of this Court can only lend credence to the most cynical appraisal of the work of judges throughout the land. It is confidence in the men and women who administer the judicial system that is the true backbone of the rule of law. Time will one day heal the wound to that confidence that will be inflicted by today's decision. One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.

EDIT: here's salon.com's top 10 possible supreme court replacements.