The Back Alley Archives

She's been hospitalized. Apart form the personal and familial tragedy, it presents a first for the new president should she step down due to this horrible illness.
Prayers to her and her family.

ugh...that ain't fun.

I saw parts of it. That is be a vicious cancer, no?

Just answered my own questions by Googling it. Less than 5% of those diagnosed are still around after 3 months. OUCH. And the 5% that make it don't have it easy. Thoughts go out for Ruth.

Should make things interesting for Obama.

Thoughts and prayers. My brother and I were talking the other day about the SC and I made a comment that I thought Ginsberg would step down in the very near future. I hate to see this.

Well, that was unexpected. Sorry to hear that. I didn't agree with her judicial philosophy, but I have heard that she's a wonderful and classy lady.

As for a replacement when she inevitably retires or passes, Obama would be hard pressed to come up with someone more "liberal," but I have no doubt that he'll try.

Either way, it's not going to affect the Court's makeup very much unless Obama gets "Soutered."

I was under the inpression that Stevens was thought of as the most liberal on the bench.

It depends on your criteria. The link I posted did not take into account the actual opinions authored by the Justices.

Interestingly, the scoring method used shows that the two extremes (Ginsburg as most liberal and Scalia as most conservative) are also the most qualified.

Barring another unforeseen illness, Stevens will probably retire during Obama's term.

Scalia is a pretentious bastard. Did you see the 60 minutes piece on him a while back?

Barring another unforeseen illness, Stevens will probably retire during Obama's term.

It had long been my position that Ginsberg and Stevens were both waiting out the Bush Presidency in the hopes that a liberal President would take office and then they would retire. I fully expect Stevens to step down and for him to do it within the next year or two.

Scalia is a pretentious bastard. Did you see the 60 minutes piece on him a while back?

No, but I saw the one on Clarence Thomas. He reminded me of a grumpy old man. He practically shook his fist at another driver when they filmed him in his RV.

big news indeed...shit keeps piling up on this administrations plate...thoughts and prayers...PC's bad news.

a question for those in the know - what are the country's contingencies during her absence?

What do you mean, "contingencies?"

You mean, what happens if she can't serve?

If the Court is in session and for whatever reason she can't participate in the voting, then as far as I know the Court will decide with only 8 votes.

This happens sometimes when one (or more) of the Justices has a conflict of interest.

thanks...that's what i meant.

If it is apparent that her condition is such that she will be incapacitated for a lengthy period of time and she doesn't retire, I imagine an impeachment proceeding would be in order.

That wouldn't be good for anyone, though, and it hasn't been even hinted at since 1805.

I don't think there's a Constitutional provision that accounts for the disability of a sitting Supreme Court Justice. The 25th Amendment applies only to the President.

I saw parts of it. That is be a vicious cancer, no?

Just answered my own questions by Googling it. Less than 5% of those diagnosed are still around after 3 months. OUCH. And the 5% that make it don't have it easy. Thoughts go out for Ruth.

Should make things interesting for Obama.

Pancreatic cancer is pretty much a death sentence. My grandma had it. Doctors can prolong your life, but it's pretty much impossible to get rid of.

Prayers for Justice Ginsberg and her family.

Scalia is a pretentious bastard. Did you see the 60 minutes piece on him a while back?

Aww, c'mon now. He can't help the fact that he understands the english language better than anyone else on earth. O0

No, but I saw the one on Clarence Thomas. He reminded me of a grumpy old man. He practically shook his fist at another driver when they filmed him in his RV.

The WSJ law blog last year kept track of the Justices' laughter during oral arguments. Apparently Thomas was the last to laugh during oral args for the session and historically has laughed much less often than the other Justices.