Headlines such as “Justice Ginsburg should retire” appeared in August, when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced that, although she was fighting a recurring battle with cancer, she had no intention of stepping down from the Supreme Court. Ginsburg’s persistence in remaining on the job, despite her age and illness, drew criticism from conservatives and liberals alike. Nonetheless, her continued service as a justice complied with one of the Supreme Court’s key functions as an institution insulated from democratic whims and was, in and of itself, not unusual.
Some liberals believe Ginsburg should have retired under President Barack Obama so her seat could have been filled with a younger liberal justice. Similarly, some conservatives claimed that Ginsburg was too frail and ought to have stepped down to pave the way for President Trump to appoint a younger conservative justice.
