Federal Judiciary

Stevens Retiring

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The Supreme Court has announced that Justice Stevens is retiring. In a statement sent to President Obama, Justice Stevens wrote:

“My dear Mr. President:

Having concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court’s next term, I shall retire from regular active service as an Associate Justice, under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. 371 (b), effective the next day after the Court rises for the summer recess this year.”

Chief Justice Roberts has replied with the following letter:

“Associate Justice John Paul Stevens has earned the gratitude and admiration of the American people for his nearly 40 years of distinguished service to the Judiciary, including more than 34 years on the Supreme Court. He has enriched the lives of everyone at the Court through his intellect, independence, and warm grace. We have all been blessed to have John as our colleague and his wife Maryan as our friend. We will miss John’s presence in our daily work, but will take joy in his and Maryan’s continued friendship in the years ahead.”

For Tom’s prior post addressing the possible retirement and potential successors see here.

Further information to follow.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on April 09, 2010 (boomark / email).