Deciding to Leave: The Politics of Retirement from the United States Supreme Court »

Ward (political science, Northern Illinois U.) offers a systematic study of the process by which Supreme Court justices decide to retire from the bench, and a historical look at retirement practices in the Courts. Citing partisan pressures that sometimes keep justices in their seats well beyond their ability to do effective work, Ward further argues for a reformed system of mandatory retirement. Chapters include 1789-1800: traveling postboys; 1869-1896: old imbeciles on the bench; and 2000-present: a self-inflicted wound. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

In this excellent historical-institutional analysis, which proceeds from the inception of the U.S. Supreme Court to the present, legal scholar Ward systematically examines the decisions of justices to retire from the Court. Ward finds that since 1954 justices have increasingly used strategic departures to allow a president from their own party to select their successor. He discusses a number of proposals for reforming the current succession process, e.g., the enactment of a constitutional amendment for a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices. This informative and interesting book provides new insights into the internal activities of the Court and the behavior of justices. Highly recommended for academic libraries and the law collections of large public libraries.-Steven Puro, St. Louis Univ.