Justice Stevens says he'll retire in Obama's term

AP File PhotoAssociate Justice John Paul StevensSupreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says he
"will surely" retire while President Barack Obama
is still in office, giving the president the opportunity to
maintain the high court's ideological balance.

Stevens said in newspaper interviews on the Web Saturday that
he will decide soon on the timing of his retirement, whether
it will be this year or next. Stevens, the leader of the
court's liberals, turns 90 this month and is the oldest justice.

His departure would give Obama his second nomination to the
court, enabling him to ensure there would continue to be at
least four liberal-leaning justices. The high court is often
split 5 to 4 on major cases, with the vote of moderate
Justice Anthony Kennedy often deciding which side prevails.

"I will surely do it while he's still
president," Stevens told The Washington Post.

But Stevens, who was named to the court by Republican
President Gerald R. Ford in 1975, says he still loves the
job, and says he continues to write the first draft of his
own opinions.

Stevens says if it ever gets to point where he stopped doing
that, it would be a sign he wasn't up to the job anymore.

Stevens is the second-oldest justice in the court's
history, after Oliver Wendell Holmes. He is the
seventh-longest-serving justice, with more than 34 years on
the court.

Another liberal, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, had surgery
last year for early-stage pancreatic cancer. While Ginsburg
has been her usual energetic self, including frequent
speaking engagements and a teaching stint in Europe,
long-term survival rates for pancreatic cancer are low.

Ginsburg, 77, has said she intends to serve into her early
80s, and she has hired her clerks for the court term that
begins in October 2010.

Justices are reluctant to retire in bunches, mainly because
they want the nine-member court as close to full strength as possible.

Stevens also is nearing two longevity records. When he joined
the court, he replaced the longest-serving justice, William
O. Douglas, and would need to serve until mid-July 2012 to
top that service record. He would surpass Holmes as the
oldest sitting justice if he were to remain on the court
until Feb. 24, 2011.

"I do have to fish or cut bait, just for my own personal
peace of mind and also in fairness to the process,"
Stevens told The New York Times. "The president and the
Senate need plenty of time to fill a vacancy."