News Update: Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Retires

Justice John Paul Stevens, the longest sitting Justice on the Supreme Court, announced his retirement today. Justice Stevens was appointed in 1975 by President Gerald Ford.

7 Presidencies later and just 11 days before his 90th birthday, the liberal justice announced he will step down, concluding his 35 year term in correlation with the court's summer recess.

President Obama spoke on the news, thanking Justice Stevens for his service and noting he would pick a successor in coming weeks, so as to leave time for the new member to be sworn in prior to the beginning of the highest court's October session.

Now the speculation surrounds who President Obama's pick will be, and how that newcomer will affect the overall dynamic of voting.

Justice Anthony Kennedy pointed out the negative and the positive aspects of new appointments last year when Justice David Souter announced his retirement

This will be a very different court. And it's stressful for us because we so admire our colleagues. We wonder, oh, will it ever be the same? But I have great admiration for the system. The system works. And it gives us the opportunity, again, to look at ourselves to make sure that we're doing it the right way so that the new justice will be able to take some instruction from our example if we are doing it the right way. And I'm sure a new justice can always ask the question, "Well, what are you doing this for?" Then we have to think about whether or not we should continue to do it."

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