Supreme Court justices are an aging tribe. Their longevity is a product of the legal safeguards established to ensure their independence. They are entitled to serve (and keep on serving) during “good behavior,” which means (in practical effect) as long as they want to. And they invariably want to for a very long time. The justices now in place are an especially elderly lot. Then again, they, too, are mortal. Vacancies occasionally appear to be fi lled by comparatively youthful men and women whose nominations evoke heated debate
