Supreme Court balance hangs on president

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Supreme-Court-balance-hangs-on-election-3948522.php

The next president may have the power to change the direction of the Supreme Court - and determine the future of abortion, gay rights, corporate influence in politics and much more. 

The subject has hardly surfaced during the campaign, apart from Vice President Joe Biden's brief reference at Thursday's debate to the likelihood of antiabortion court nominees by Republican Mitt Romney. It could arise at Tuesday's town-hall-style debate between Romney and President Obama.

Despite the lack of attention, the prospect of recasting the majority on a court that is closely divided on many critical issues is one of the most important consequences of the Nov. 6 election.

At least one of the court's nine seats is likely to become vacant in the next four years. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 79 and has had cancer. Conservatives Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy are both 76. Liberal Stephen Breyer is 74.

None has spoken publicly of retiring. Ginsburg has said she plans to stay until at least 2015. But longtime justices often time their departure so that a president with compatible views can choose their successor.