U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter has announced that he will retire at the end of the Court’s term in June. Souter, 69 years old, is the Court 105th justice. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 in the hopes that he would be a solid conservative like his contemporary nominee, Justice Clarence Thomas. However, Souter soon became a reliable moderate to liberal vote on the Court, joining in a ruling reaffirming a woman's right to an abortion in 1992, and dissenting in the 2000 decision Bush v. Gore that gave the White House to President George W. Bush. One of his more controversial decisions was the 2005 case Kelo v. City of New London, Conn., an eminent domain case that gave cities the right to take land from homeowners to give to developers in the name of "public use." President Barack Obama will now have his first opportunity to appoint a new justice to the high court. If President Obama selects a moderate as expected, the ideological balance of the Court will not likely change.
Allen M. Lee Mr. Lee’s practice focuses on business, corporate and intellectual property matters, including the creation, protection and exploitation of intellectual property assets. He counsels clients on business formation, general corporate matters, trademark, copyright, trade secret, patent, licensing, internet and domain name issues, among other things. For more information contact: Allen M. Lee, a Professional Law Corporation, Tel: (650) 254-0758, Fax: (650) 967-1851, Email: allen@allenmlee.com, Internet: www.allenmlee.com.
Subscribe