Are supreme court justices appointed for life?

Question

That's what I've read. If so, then how is the next president going to appoint a new justice to the bench if they serve until they are either impeached or they step down? The reason I ask, is I keep hearing if Hillary is elected, she'll appoint a liberal activist judge, and if Guiliani is elected, he'll appoint a conservative constructionist judge. Considering they both win the nomination to their party that is. Unfortunately, wikipedia doesn't explain everything :)

So, how are they going to appoint one if none step down?

Answer 1

Yes, Justices can serve for as long as they want, until they die or are so sick that they have to retire because they can no longer function. Most Supreme Court Justices -- especially in the last 100 years -- have served for longer than Franklin D. Roosevelt's reign in the Presidency.

But the reason that it is safe to assume that there will be at least one Supreme Court vacancy during the next 5 years is because, out of the current crop of Justices, one of them is 87 years old now and will probably not stay on the Court for another 5 years. John Paul Stevens was born in April, 1920. In addition, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in 1933, so her seat might become vacant, too, during the next term.

Answer 2

Yes, the appointments are for life, but you can often expect for a Justice to die or resign during a president's term.

No, the President can't fire a Justice. Now, Congress could impeach and remove a Justice, but that's never happened.

If a justice doesn't die or step down, then the President doesn't get to make an appointment. This happened to Jimmy Carter. But, often a justice will wait to retire until there's a president in office who will make an appointment that's more in line with their leanings. For example, Stevens is on the left side of the court, but he wouldn't want Bush to name his successor. If a Democrat wins in 2008, he'll likely step down during that term to allow a liberal justice to be nominated.

Answer 3

He is in a very good position to know who would serve the country best. I believe that he would try to appoint jurists who hold a rather strict interpretation of the Constitution, not people who would further weaken it. For the last 27 years, both parties have seriously undermined the rule of law, I think POTUS Obama would start to reverse that traitorous damage.

Answer 4

Yes, that's one of the best things about Bush winning in 2004 - he got to replace Rhenquist.

Answer 5

Yes