Justice Harry Blackmun, a liberal anchor of the Supreme Court and author of the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the current term.
President Clinton, citing Blackmun's distinguished 24-year career on the court, said "the shoes are large" as he searches for a replacement. Clinton promised to fill the second Supreme Court vacancy of his term soon."I shall miss the court, its work and its relationships," Blackmun said. "But I leave it in good hands."
At a White House announcement, Clinton saluted Blackmun as a judge of "majesty and reason, with scholarship and grace" who defied all political labels. In stepping down, Clinton said Blackmun will "step up into our history."
Blackmun, 85, said it was hard to step aside from a job he loves, but "it is time."
"It's been a great ride and I am indebted to the nation and Mr. President to you and all your predecessors for putting up with me," he said.
The justice told Clinton several months ago he was likely to retire. With the White House search for a successor well under way, Clinton promised a nominee "of genuine stature" and reminded reporters of his campaign statements, including a promise to name abortion rights supporters to the court.
Early speculation centered on retiring Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.
"I think either one could be confirmed," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Other possible choices included federal appellate Judges Richard Arnold of Arkansas and Stephen Breyer of Massachusetts, a finalist before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was picked; Justice Department official Walter Dellinger; and federal trial Judge Jose Cabranes of Connecticut.
Clinton had little else to say about his search, which is being led by White House counsel Lloyd Cutler. "This should be Justice Blackmun's day," Clinton said.
Blackmun said of his vote in the landmark abortion rights case, "I think it was right in 1973 and I think it was right today."
In a light moment, Blackmun was asked how he would get by without his daily dose of hate mail. "He agreed to take some of mine," Clinton joked.
Mitchell announced his surprise plans to retire on March 4, triggering speculation at the time that he might be interested in a Supreme Court appointment should one occur.
"The speculation in the Senate is that Senator Mitchell is the clear favorite," Sen. Hank Brown, R-Colo., a Judiciary Committee member, said in an appearance with Leahy on NBC.
Presidential adviser Bruce Lindsey said it would be wrong to think the senator's selection was a foregone conclusion.
"The field is wide open," he insisted. Dampening talk about an immediate nomination, Lindsey said, "My guess is you're not going to hear anything in the next week or two."
Lindsey acknowledged that the administration was counting on Mitchell to lead the Senate battle over Clinton's health reform proposal. However, he said Mitchell - if selected - still could play a central role while waiting for the confirmation process to begin.
Speculation about Blackmun leaving the court had been rampant for months. But friends of the justice suggested only last week that, in good health and high spirits, he was considering extending his judicial career for another year.
Blackmun's authorship of Roe vs. Wade made him one of the most vilified Supreme Court members in history, though he remains a hero to proponents of legalized abortion. He also said recently he no longer would vote to uphold the death penalty.
Abortion opponents said their satisfaction over Blackmun's pending departure was tempered by the knowledge that Clinton would nominate someone with similar views.
"I have no doubt that the person Clinton appoints will be as rabidly pro-abortion as he is," said Garnett Biviano, president of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation. "Any opportunity that President Clinton gets to appoint a Supreme Court justice is a death knell for millions of unborn babies in this country."
Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, called Blackmun "the conscience of the court. Although he is a soft-spoken man of few words, many of his decisions have had enormous impact."
Blackmun, the court's senior member, was appointed in 1970 by President Richard M. Nixon. Though a lifelong Republican, Blackmun built a reputation as one of the court's most liberal members.
In his early days on the court, Blackmun was derided for what legal scholars perceived as his dependence on fellow Minnesotan and longtime friend Warren E. Burger, the chief justice who had been appointed by Nixon a year earlier.
Blackmun was called "Hip Pocket Harry" and "the Minnesota Twin" in print.
But by the end of his first decade on the court, Blackmun had established himself as an independent force whose vote often was a critical one in close cases.
Blackmun also emerged in a new role - the justice most intent on forcing the court to come to grips with the realities of the problems it was asked to resolve and with the real-world effects of those resolutions.
"Blackmun appears committed to viewing litigants before the court as real persons rather than legal abstractions," New York University law professor Burt Neuborne once said.
In a 1983 interview with The Associated Press on the eve of his most famous decision's 10-year anniversary Blackmun repeated the phrase "author of the abortion decision" slowly and softly.
"We all pick up tabs," he said. "I'll carry this one to my grave."
Blackmun received more than 60,000 pieces of "hate mail" in the past two decades over the abortion ruling, letters that called him a murderer and a butcher. They compared him to the Nazi overseers of genocide. A devout Methodist, Blackmun received letters of condemnation from Methodist clergymen. He insisted on reading all such mail.