The scales of the court have tilted from the conservative to the liberal side, and the shift has been noticeable.
he 2016 presidential election will have consequences far beyond the management of the nation’s executive branch for the next four years. The 45th President of the United States may have the opportunity to nominate as many as four new Supreme Court justices, perhaps tipping the current precarious balance between liberals and conservatives.
One of the nine seats on the nation’s highest court has been unfilled since February, when Justice Antonin Scalia passed away and the Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold confirmation hearings on President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland.
Three more justices — Ruth Bader Ginsburg (83), Anthony Kennedy (80), and Stephen Breyer (78) have reached, or exceeded the average age at which Supreme Court justices have generally retired since the 1960s.
The composition of the court has changed dramatically since the early 1970s, when Richard Nixon was president and eight of the sitting justices were Republican nominees.
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