[clarkm]

I often hear people use this argument, but I'm not sure I buy it. Won't the Justices just wait until a President of their preferred ideology is in power before retiring?

Justice Ginsburg is only 79 -- both John Paul Stevens and Oliver Wendell Holmes retired when they were 90.

Edit: It looks like Ginsburg has expressed her desire to retire at 82 (in 2015), so unless she changes her mind, it will matter.

[aaronbrethorst]

Ginsburg was treated for pancreatic cancer three years ago.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/st...

[ceejayoz]

> Won't the Justices just wait until a President of their preferred ideology is in power before retiring?

For the 70+ year olds on the court, that's not always up to them. If it was, the ideological makeup of the court would essentially never change.