, Columnist
The Conservative Case for Clarence Thomas's Retirement
He'll do it -- if he cares about the ideas he's worked for in his decades on the court.
Timing is everything.
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At 80, Justice Anthony Kennedy is the oldest Republican-appointed member of the Supreme Court. But if he does retire at the end of the term in June, the stakes are enormous. He’s the swing vote in many crucial cases, and any replacement selected from President Donald Trump's Heritage Foundation-approved list would be at least somewhat more conservative, perhaps quite a bit more.
That’s why election law maven and court-watcher Rick Hasen floats the idea that another justice is about to bow out instead: Clarence Thomas.