AFP: US Supreme Court Justice David Souter to retire
Agence France-Presse (France)

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire at the end of the court's current term, US media reported Thursday, giving President Barack Obama an early opportunity to name a judge to the highest US court.

"David Souter intends to retire," NBC News reported late Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

National Public Radio, citing US government officials, said that Souter is expected to "remain on the bench until a successor has been chosen and confirmed."

Souter, 69, "has informed the White House of his decision," NPR added.

Due to likely political wrangling in the US Senate over Souter's successor, it is possible a new judge may not be ready by the time the Supreme Court reconvenes in October.

Neither Souter nor the Supreme Court offered comment on the retirement reports.

Rumors over Souter's possible retirement began in recent days after he reportedly failed to hire new clerks for October's new term -- something all the other justices have done by now.

NPR confirmed that Souter, who is younger than four of the other justices, is in good health, and is likely making the retirement decision for personal reasons -- to return to his former home state of New Hampshire.

That Souter would be the first judge to leave during Obama's presidency, however, is a surprise move -- observers expected 89-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens or Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 76, who is undergoing chemotherapy and recovering from pancreatic cancer surgery, to step down before anyone else.

President George HW Bush appointed Souter, a former appeals court judge, to the bench in 1990.

After his appointment, conservatives had hoped Souter would fall on the right side of judicial decisions, notably on the highly divisive topic of abortion. However Souter proved to be a more moderate voice on the Court, siding with the liberal wing of the high bench.

The opportunity to name a new justice comes as a slew of controversial issues -- including gay marriage, abortion rights, gun ownership, the death penalty and Internet privacy -- are all likely to resurface in coming years.

An Obama pick, however, is unlikely to drastically alter the Court's ideological leaning, as Souter generally votes with the three liberal-leaning justices.

Currently four conservatives and four liberals -- with moderate Anthony Kennedy holding the middle ground -- compose a balance on the Court that Obama, a Democrat, is expected to sustain.

For his first appointment, Obama is widely expected to back a female judge, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Court's only female justice, is currently recovering from pancreatic cancer surgery.

Obama's choice has a great chance of confirmation in the US Senate, where Democrats currently hold 59 seats to the Republican's 40.

By the time of confirmation hearings, the upper legislative body is expected to seat Democrat Al Franken, who is currently favored in a recount battle with Republican incumbent Norm Coleman for the Minnesota seat.

Traditionally, Republicans have lobbied for judges who strictly adhere to the constitution, and criticized Democratic appointees who they say make new policy through court rulings.

Only two women have served on the Supreme Court -- Ginsburg and Sandra Day O'Connor who retired in 2006 -- and two African-Americans have succeeded one another in the same seat.

During his campaign for the presidency, Obama hinted at what he would expect of any Supreme Court appointees.

"I taught constitutional law for 10 years, and ... when you look at what makes a great Supreme Court justice, it's not just the particular issue and how they rule but it's their conception of the court," Obama said during a presidential debate.

"And part of the role of the court is that it is going to protect people who may be vulnerable in the political process, the outsider, the minority, those who are vulnerable, those who don't have a lot of clout."

NPR said that nominees on a theoretical short list for Obama include: solicitor general Elena Kagan, who currently represents the government before the Supreme Court; Hispanic judge Sonia Sotomaor, who sits on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and federal judge Diane Wood, who taught at the University of Chicago at the same time as Obama.

Souter, a Harvard and Oxford University graduate, began his career at a New Hampshire law firm before rising to the rank of Attorney General in the northeastern state.

From 1978 he served for five years as an associate justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, before moving up to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.