Legal News

Should Retired Justices Be Called Back?

By Glen Ashman

Should Retired Justices Be Called Back to Supreme Court? 

National Law Journal

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is thinking about proposing legislation that would allow a retired U.S. Supreme Court justice to sit in a case when a current justice has recused ? in what would be a major shift in how the Court operates.  The idea comes up as Justice John Paul Stevens prepares to join the ranks of retired justices. Leahy, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he decided to draft a bill after a recent meeting with Stevens.  ?I talked with Justice Stevens, and he raised the question, ?Could we not have a provision in the law for some mechanism that retired Supreme Court justices could be asked to sit on the Court when there is a recusal?? ? Leahy said in an interview with The National Law Journal.  ?That would make a lot of sense,? he added, ?because if you?ve got an eight-member Court, you could easily have 4-to-4 decisions...?   After Stevens retires this summer, there will be three retired justices. Sandra Day O?Connor retired in 2006 and David Souter retired in 2009.

Full post as published by It's (Barely) Legal on June 16, 2010 (boomark / email).