Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tells the New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin that she's likely to stay on the court for at least another two years, health permitting.
"It's not this year. You can never tell when you're my age," Ginsburg said. "But, as long as I think I have the candlepower, I will do it. And I figure next year for certain. After that, who knows?"
President Obama greets Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a hug and a smile at his 2009 address to Congress. Justice Ginsburg had recently returned to the bench after surgery for pancreatic cancer. (Melina Mara-The Washington Post) Ginsburg is the Court's oldest member, at 79 years old, and is in her 20th year on the court.
As a member of the court's liberal wing, she would ensure that President Obama gets to pick her replacement if she retired sometime in the next four years -- something that would hearten liberals.
Ginsburg most recently made headlines for nodding off repeatedly during the State of the Union address -- though it was hardly the first time she has had that problem.
Ginsburg underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2009 but returned to the bench soon afterward.
