Looks like Trump is going to get another SCOTUS judge

[B. W.]

The title says it all. Ginsberg is extremely sick and so Trump team is already seeking an appropriate candidate:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/...arture-1096102



She should have retired when Obama was president if the Dems wanted another lib. My thinking is she wanted to hang around and let Hillary get the glory of replacing her because every Dem thought Hillary was a shoe-in.

You know what they say about the best laid plans.

[NorseThing]

I wish Ginsburg well. Guessing why she wanted to stay is, well, guessing. My guess does not matter.

As recent as last year:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Plans to Stay on the Supreme Court for - Vogue


https://www.vogue.com/article/ruth-b...ive-more-years



Jul 30, 2018 - At a time when each vacant Supreme Court seat threatens to upend the balance of thecourt for generations, the justice known as RBG says ...

From the end of the article:

“My dear spouse would say that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle—it is the pendulum,” Ginsburg said of her late husband, Marty. “And when it goes very far in one direction you can count on its swinging back.”

She is correct. The Democrats win the house and now she may not get her 5 years. Trump gets an additional appointment to the Supreme Court prior to the next election cycle. How Trump and the Senate Democrats behave on this may indeed be a factor on who wins the next presidential election.

[Aexodus]

If a change of Justice came to pass, Trump should pick a moderate constitutionalist candidate.

[Gaidin]

July 2018 aside, since that is before her surgery...

I will take no guess for six months barring unforeseen complications that can come up. This is how surgery works for even young people. She may have follow up appointments for a year with a surgeon given her age.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Justice Ginsburg has been a diligent public servant for decades, and I cannot begin to express my gratitude for her service. I hope that her loyalty to public service has not jeopardized her health regardless of the political climate. As of yet I think it is way too early to predict new appointments. To her credit, the Honorable Justice has expressed her will to remain on the Court, as is her right. This must be respected.

[Heathen Hammer]

Didn't she say she will resign this year anyways?

[Gaidin]

After 2020.

Like I said, as someone who's had surgery thrice, there's nothing overly special about her off-schedule and doctor schedule here. I think from the beginning her retirement plan was sometime after January 20th, 2021.

[Love Mountain]

Well I hope her medical condition is as good as you make me feel it is, Gaidin. She is 95 and I'm concerned. The balance of SCOTUS hangs in balance.

[Gaidin]

Well I hope her medical condition is as good as you make me feel it is, Gaidin. She is 95 and I'm concerned. The balance of SCOTUS hangs in balance.

Well I don't feel as bad as you since she's 85 and JPS retired at 90 and is still alive at 98.

Math. A skill we all need.

[B. W.]

Lots of rumors about Ginsberg's coming departure:

https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/...nt-everywhere/

[NorseThing]

Ginsburg does not need to wait that long if she does intend to resign. December 2019 is not that fqr off now. If the appointment comes less than a year before the general election, it will wait until after the election. That much is pretty clear from the stalled previous SCOTUS appointment.

[Gaidin]

Ginsburg does not need to wait that long if she does intend to resign. December 2019 is not that fqr off now. If the appointment comes less than a year before the general election, it will wait until after the election. That much is pretty clear from the stalled previous SCOTUS appointment.

Nah, it won't. Mickey will be quite happy to hold hearings in 2020.

[Prodromos]

If the appointment comes less than a year before the general election, it will wait until after the election. That much is pretty clear from the stalled previous SCOTUS appointment.

Funniest thing I've read all week.

[Pontifex Maximus]

What the Justice will have to decide for herself is whether or not her absences will prejudice the service of justice to such an extent that she should resign her seat. Obviously I am ideologically and philosophically opposed to basically everything she believes in, but this decision is only hers to make and it can't be judged fairly by anyone because the Constitution explicitly gives her this right.

[Gaidin]

Is there precedent of medical absence? I’m pretty sure their is.

[NorseThing]

I think she can just do what she is currently doing and nobody will complain. Listening to the oral arguments and having staff assist on her responses for the written opinions is just fine. Pretty much wha all the justices do with all the cases. Just her physical presence is a bit different, but I could see this as workable.

I do not think there has been any precedent for the Supreme Court justices taking extended leaves for any reason. But such extended leaves are not really what Justice Ginsburg is doing here anyways.

[Gaidin]

Exactly. It’s just a recovery from a surgery. Knowing how the government works, for all they’re letting her go over arguments and vote, they probably won’t let her in the room until her surgeon clears her as recovered. It’s fairly standard.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Is there precedent of medical absence? I’m pretty sure their is.

There probably is, but the Justice will not be bound by it in any sense. The Constitution is pretty clear on this point I think.