Supreme Makeover

‘If there is one issue that has been below the radar in this year’s election, it is that up to three seats on the Supreme Court could be vacated during the next presidential term. A seat has not open up in close to ten years, and with three justices between the ages of 74 and 84, it is likely that either Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Sandra Day O’Conner or John Paul Stevens will decide to step down from the bench. The next president will be able to leave a legacy that could last for decades with such issues as abortion and civil rights making their way through the judicial system to the high court. A Bush win would most certainly scale back abortion and civil rights as well as human rights laws, whereas a Kerry win would likely keep these laws in their current place.

As the election is drawing near, this issue has begun to crop up with a bit more frequency. There was a question regarding the Supreme Court in the second debate, but both candidates largely ducked the question, wiht the exception of Kerry pointing out that Bush’s favorite justices are Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, the court’s most conservative judges.

The following articles gives a good description of the situation:

Yahoo! News