Why Did Carter Get No SCOTUS Appointments?

[brucejoel99]

To your specific point, Carter tried to get Marshall to retire and Marshall told him to eat sh**t and die.

And Clarence Thomas thanked Marshall greatly as he dedicated 3 decades of his life to destroying Marshall's legacy.

[brucejoel99]

This is very rare.  Carter is the only president to serve a full term or longer and get 0 SCOTUS appointments.  The 2 most left-leaning justices were both in their 70's at the time and had served through 8 years of a Republican WH, so I find it quite surprising no one retired?

There have been plenty of terms in which there were no vacancies. Clinton's 2nd Term and W's 1st Term both had no vacancies, and if W had been a 1 term president, Kerry would've gotten to replace Rehnquist at least (O'Connor probably doesn't retire). Obama didn't get an appointment in his 2nd term even though there was a vacancy.

That means out of the last 11 4 year presidential terms, 4 didn't have an appointment made: Carter, Clinton's 2nd term, W's 1st term, and Obama's 2nd term.

I imagine O'Connor still retires because she didn't retire for ideological reasons (though she infamously celebrated what looked like W's. win on election night in 2000, she later grew to fear the kind of justice he'd replace her with, a fear which was ultimately borne out in Alito), but rather to take care of her husband who was ailing from Alzheimer's.

[brucejoel99]

Not for nothing, but Thomas has publicly said time & time again that he'll die on the bench, ideology be damned.

Alito will definitely retire during the next Republican presidency, though.

[brucejoel99]

Not for nothing, but Thomas has publicly said time & time again that he'll die on the bench, ideology be damned.

It's difficult to see Thomas retiring unless he could ensure he is replaced not just by a conservative justice, but by someone in his particular mold. Jim Ho on the 5th Circuit, who's a former Thomas clerk, may come close based on his tenure so far, but I don't know if anyone who exactly mirrors Thomas exists anywhere.

All that said, I think Thomas wants to hold on until he gets to overturn Bakke/Grutter/Fisher.

No "unless" necessary: it's difficult to see him retiring, period. The man has been crystal clear about his stance on this.

[brucejoel99]

Just saying "Thomas will retire" (let alone "under a Republican president") over & over again doesn't make it so, people.