For what its worth, some frank predictions I have heard as to why Rehnquist won’t retire:
“He has been there long enough to know that when you leave the Court you shrivel up and die. He has seen what happened to Blackmun, Marshall, etc. If he leaves, he’ll be dead in six months. Without the Court, most Justices have no life.”
“Former Supreme Court Justices are nobodies, unlike former Congressmen and Cabinet Secretaries. For someone whose whole life has been built around the Supreme Court and Washington, he can’t accept being a nobody. They even kick them out of the Supreme Court Building.”
“He’s so stubborn, the only way he will leave is when it is clear he is doing it on his terms, rather than being pushed.”
On the hand, it has also been observed that these reasons would not apply to O’Connor–who who has a life outside Washington and outside the Court, and could retire to her ranch and grandkids in Arizona.
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