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Mr. Okamoto
AP American Government
11 October 2014
As the Supreme Court begins its session, calls have risen for the resignation of Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and these calls have sparked debate over the lifelong terms of Supreme
Court Justices. Most calling for Justice Ginsburgs resignation appear to also be in favor of shortterm Supreme Court seats and similarly, the opposing opinions belong to a mostly singular group
of people. The attempt to coerce Ginsburg into resignation derives from the fear that shifts in
control of the other branches might lead to unnecessary deadlock in the coming years and, if this
proves to be true, will also provide evidence for the necessity of shorter terms in the Court.
With the possibility of a Republican Senate majority this year and a Republican president
in 2016, critics such as Erwin Chermerinsky argue that it is in President Obamas best interest to
act now and assure that a progressive liberal be chosen as Justice Ginsburgs replacement. If the
Republicans take the senate, it will be incredibly difficult to do this without opposition and if
President Obamas successor is a Republican, it can almost be assured that a conservative will be
chosen as successor. However, these theories are only plausible if Justice Ginsburg retires soon
and, as Jeffrey Rosen points out, she has no plans of resigning soon, though her age may be an
issue later. The opposition also argues that Justice Ginsburg is a leading figure in the liberal
opposition and has been providing innovative work for the liberal front from her position. This,
combined with her attitude, according to those supporting her, ensures that her seat will not be an
issue.