AP reports:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told law students there could be an opening on the Supreme Court soon but didn’t hint at who might be leaving. 

Ginsburg spoke Friday at New England Law’s annual “Law Day.”

In a question-and-answer session, she said the nine justices only take pictures together when a new member is added. She said: “We haven’t had any of those for some time, but surely we will soon.”

She didn’t say that she would be the one leaving, of course. Speculation has long focused on John Paul Stevens, who will turn 89 next month, but Ginsburg’s battle with pancreatic cancer has shaken up the conventional wisdom. At this point, one would have to assume that there will be at least one vacancy on the court at the end of the term in June, possibly two.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the first nomination almost certainly goes to a woman whether it is Ginsburg that steps down or Stevens (though it’s an absolute mortal lock if the nominee is to replace Ginsburg; no president is going to let the court become all-male again). The attention of court watchers has focused primarily on 4 women: current Solicitor General Elena Kagan; appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor; appeals court Judge Kim Wardlaw; and Leah Ward Sears, Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.

Kagan was my odds-on favorite for the first nomination, but she did run into some unexpected bumps in the confirmation process for Solicitor General. In particular, she refused to answer specific questions about her positions on various issues, this after writing an article some years ago criticizing court nominees who do so and calling on Congress to demand more specific answers.

She argued that as Solicitor General, this idea did not apply because her job is to present the position of the president, not her own. But as a nominee for Supreme Court justice, that argument would not work. She also said that she was less convinced of her earlier position now than when she offered it, but this would likely be seen as a conversion of convenience.