So Long, Farewell

So Rehnquist once again tops Justice O'Connor (in case you've been in a cave, SOC announced her retirement from the Court today. At Stanford Law she was ranked #3 in the same class as still Chief Justice Rehnquist, who was ranked #1). Of the three possible retirements (Rehnquist, O'Connor, and Stevens), I was grudgingly hoping for Rehnquist. The reasons are self-evident, but even a Judge Luttig would not alter much if he replaced Rehnquist. On the one hand, I don't consider SOC as moderate as the term "swing vote" seems to imply, on the other even those few swings are important symbolic areas of the law.

In related news, Sasha Volokh is now screwed out of a job.

UPDATE: I just saw the text of her resignation letter and it seems a tad peculiar. It seems to preclude the possibility of a recess appointment. Does it in fact do that? If so, CAN she do that?