Presidential Election to Change Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court didn’t receive much attention during the campaign trail this year. The highest court in the nation’s composition is not address by both President Barack Obama and former governor Mitt Romney.

There’s no indication that any of the justices are ready to retire. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, and Stephen Breyer are already in their 70s and there is a possibility that the next president would nominate a new justice.

Nominating a new justice is sometimes a president’s most lasting legacy. President George W. Bush has been out of the office for four years but his two nominees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, can still serve up to several years.

The current Supreme Court is divided on several issues with five justices nominated by Republican presidents and four by Democratic presidents. If Romney wins the presidency, he could be given the chance to nominate a conservative to replace a liberal. Roe v. Wade could be overturned and the abortion rights could be returned to the states.

Paul Ryan, Romney’s running mate, said that unelected judges should not make the decision on abortions. He maintained that elected representatives should make the determination for their constituents.

Justice Kennedy is seen as the swing vote with the liberal block of the court on some of the social issues. It could be decided differently if Romney gets the chance to add another conservative to the Supreme Court.

On top of Romney’s list to nominate to the Supreme Court is one of legal advisers Robert Bork, who is a conservative trail blazer. Another top contender is lawyer Paul Clement, a former Solicitor General under the Bush administration and fought against the health care law. At present, Clement is defending the federal law that defines marriage as an arrangement between a man and a woman.