Deciding to leave : the politics of retirement from the United States Supreme Court / Artemus Ward.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ward, Artemus, 1971-

Series:

SUNY series in American constitutionalism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Supreme Court--Officials and employees--Retirement.

United States.

United States. Supreme Court.

Judges--Retirement--United States.

Judges.

Judges--Retirement.

Retirement.

Physical Description:

xiii, 344 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2003]

Summary:

While much has been written on Supreme Court appointments, Deciding to Leave provides the first systematic look at the process by which justices decide to retire from the bench, and why this has become increasingly partisan in recent years. Since 1954, generous retirement provisions and decreasing workloads have allowed justices to depart strategically when a president of their own party occupies the White House. Otherwise, the justices remain in their seats, often past their ability to effectively participate in the work of the Court. While there are benefits and drawbacks to various reform proposals, Ward argues that mandatory retirement goes farthest in combating partisanship and protecting the institution of the Court.

Contents:

1 The Politics of Departure in the U.S. Supreme Court 1

Departure in Comparative Perspective 12

Departure Politics in Historical Context 15

2 1789-1800: Traveling Postboys 25

Indisposition and the Early Supreme Court 27

Disagreeable Tours 28

3 1801-1868: Crippled Courts 43

Army of Judges 44

Imminent Danger of Sudden Death 48

Needy and Half-Paid Men 51

Abridgment of Tenure, Facility of Removal, or Some Other Modification 55

If Mr. Clay Had Been Elected 59

4 1869-1896: Old Imbeciles on the Bench 69

Dangerous in its Operation 72

1869 Retirement Act 75

The Disputed Election of 1876 81

The Evarts Act 89

5 1897-1936: Old Fools and Young Spirits 95

The Field Effect 96

Evarts Act Redux 101

Increased Caseloads 113

6 1937-1954: Senior Status 127

A War with a Fool at the Top 129

1937 Retirement Act 136

Untimely Deaths 143

7 1954-1970: The Limits of Power 153

1954 Retirement Act 158

Cantankerous Fellows 161

An Extraconstitutional Arrangement 168

8 1971-1999: Appointed for Life 177

He Ought to Get Off the Court Too 178

Old and Coming Apart 192

9 2000-Present: A Self-Inflicted Wound 211

The Disputed Election of 2000 213

That's For Me to Know and You to Find Out 217

10 Conclusion: Imaginary Danger? 225

Ability and Inability 229

The Rule of 100 233

Lightening the Burden 237

Mandatory Retirement 240

Appendix A Letter from Byron White to Warren Burger, October 20, 1975 249

Appendix B Letter from Warren E. Burger, William J. Brennan, Jr., Potter Stewart, Byron R. White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry A. Blackmun, Lewis F. Powell, and William H. Rehnquist to William O. Douglas, December 22, 1975 253

Appendix C Letter from John Paul Stevens to William H. Rehnquist, October 28, 1988 255.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-328) and index.

ISBN:

079145651X

0791456528

OCLC:

50651594