John paul stevens

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has withdrawn her bid for confirmation, after several Republicans objected to her criticism of the Bush administration's terrorist interrogation policies.

WASHINGTON - The retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court's leading liberal, touched off an immediate election-year political battle Friday over President Barack Obama's second high court pick.

“In 1975, as a first-term Senator from Delaware, I had the privilege of voting for the first time to confirm a nominee to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Last year, I was honored when that nominee — Justice John Paul Stevens — administered the oath of office as I was sworn in to serve as Vice President of the United States. Today, I called Justice Stevens to thank him for his service to our country, after he announced his retirement. Throughout this span of years, all Americans have benefitted from Justice Stevens‘s commitment to our core Constitutional values and to the fair and restrained application of the law to all parties before the Court. His legacy as a Justice will endure, beyond the confines of a particular judicial ideology, because it reflects the profound humanity he brought to bear to the task of judging.

WASHINGTON - A White House aide says President Barack Obama is considering about 10 people to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

2:03 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. I want to say a few words about the tragedy that took place this week in West Virginia, but before I do, I’d first like to comment on the news that Justice John Paul Stevens will retire from the Supreme Court at the end of its current term.