Do U.S. Supreme Court justices, as some historical evidence suggests, time their retirements with an eye to the partisan or political affiliation of the president or the Senate majority? No, when it comes to retirement decisions, justices care more about power than party and policy, according to a new empirical study.
As Court-watchers ramp up speculation about possible retirements this term because of the election of President Barack Obama — viewed by some as a “favorable” political climate particularly for potential retirees justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David H. Souter — two political scientists at Santa Clara University found that justices commonly are not “strategically” retiring in the modern era despite historical evidence that some justices have. Instead, their retirement decisions are influenced by three dominant factors:
