Justice Stevens slows his hiring at high court

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has hired fewer law clerks than usual, generating speculation that the leader of the court's liberals will retire next year.

If Stevens does step down, he would give President Barack Obama his second high court opening in two years. Obama chose Justice Sonia Sotomayor for the court when Justice David Souter announced his retirement in May.

Souter's failure to hire clerks was the first signal that he was contemplating leaving the court.

Stevens, 89, joined the court in 1975 and is the second-oldest justice in the court's history, after Oliver Wendell Holmes. He is the seventh-longest-serving justice, with more than 33 years and eight months on the court.

In response to a question from The Associated Press, Stevens confirmed through a court spokeswoman Tuesday that he has hired only one clerk for the term that begins in October 2010. He is among several justices who typically have hired all four clerks for the following year by now. Information about this advance hiring is not released by the court but is regularly published by some legal blogs.

http://www.rr.com/news/politics/article/1151/8805098/Justice_Stevens_slows_his_hiring_at_high_court

At 89 with a Democratic President it certainly would not be a surprise for him to retire, but whether he has or hasn't hired law clerks for the term beginning in the fall of 2010 means nothing. Being a law clerk to a Supreme Court Justice is such a prestigious job that if he announced he was hiring a few days before the term begins he'd have a line around the Supreme Court building in about 30 seconds of all the brightest young lawyers in the country.

Personally, I am watching for the story about Kennedy slowing his hiring. That is the only possible seat to change the make-up of the court.

while we still have strong majorities in the senate, which we may not have after 2010.

Or, certainly, a person of color. The historical under-representation screams out for it.