I'll miss you, Sandy

Justice O'Connor resigned this morning.

She's been my favorite justice for years. Smart, no-nonsense, about as unpolitical as you can be on the land's highest court, and best of all, unpredictable. She's everything I want to be. And now she's gone.

I won't say too much, since I'm not an expert on the Court and I'm sure plenty of other blogs will have far more eloquent and insightful things to say. I remember when Ross and I, during 1L year, made plans to clerk for her after graduation (unfortunately, grades and other such nonsense got in the way -- not that they would have helped us now). If nothing else, that's a tribute to her versatility: that Ross, one of the law school's pre-eminent green liberals, and I, known around my school as one of the big conservatives, could both aspire to clerk for her speaks volumes of her ability not to let partisanism interfere with her duties to the country.

I'd say something here about how I hope that President Bush and Senate Democrats and Republicans alike will do their best to keep this from escalating into an ugly and unnecessary fight, but I'm sadly no longer that naive. I just hope that, in the end, we're fortunate enough to somehow wind up with someone halfway decent. But I doubt they'll ever be able to fill her substantial shoes.

Thanks, Justice O'Connor: you've given lawyers everywhere something to aspire to.