May 1, 2009 7:57 am US/Eastern
NYC Judge Among Potential Obama Nominees
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Supreme Court Justice David Souter sits for a class photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. in this October, 31, 2005 file photo.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
A federal judge in Manhattan is among the people President Barack Obama may consider to replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considered to be among the potential nominees.
Sotomayer was on the panel that rejected a new trial for a former radical activist. Judith Clark is imprisoned for being the getaway driver in a 1981 Rockland County armored-truck robbery. The incident left three people dead, including two police officers.
According to NPR, Souter will remain on the court until a successor has been chosen and confirmed. The court recently finished hearing a term of oral arguments and will begin issuing decisions this summer before reconvening in October.
A Supreme Court spokesman said that Souter has no comment on the retirement reports, according to Reuters.
"It's not a terrible shock that Souter would be leaving. He has perennially be one of the names listed when folks think about potential retirements, mostly because he's never really taken to Washington or to the insider scene that has attracted so many other Justices over the years," said CBS News legal affairs analyst Andrew Cohen.
There were also recent indications that Souter was contemplating retirement. He did not hire new clerks for the next term, which usually happens by now. It is also possible that the new presidential term played a role in his decision.
President Barack Obama will now have his first opportunity to appoint a new justice to the high court.
"Souter's replacement isn't likely to cause any dramatic change on the Court since he's typically held the Court's center and if anything has leaned left over the past several terms. So if Obama as predicted selects a moderate the Court will pretty much retain the balance it has now," Cohen said.
Still, it will be a closely watched decision. Mr. Obama is expected to feel some pressure to appoint a woman to replace Souter. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is currently the only woman on the court, following the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in January, 2006.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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