Conservatives may find themselves geared up for another Supreme Court fight sooner than they thought. The New York Times along with Paul Mirengoff at Powerline are both speculating that the eighty-nine year-old Justice Paul Stevens may be thinking of retiring from the high court soon. The New York Times reports today:
Clerk-watching has long been one of the signals as to whether a justice plans to retire, although clearly not foolproof and definitely not official. Justices usually hire three to four clerks by the beginning of the summer, a year or so before the next term when the clerks would start work. For Justice Stevens, the one hire — for the Supreme Court season beginning in October 2010 — is fueling suggestions that plans to retire may be in the offing.
