Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter plans to retire at the end of the court’s current term in June, National Public Radio reported late Thursday. Souter has already informed the White House of his decision.

Sixty-nine-year-old Souter was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. Liberals originally feared that the virtually unknown Republican would swing conservative, but his decisions proved otherwise, and Souter is known to fit in with the more liberal bloc. Souter in 1992 voted to uphold Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that affirmed abortion rights. After 19 years in the Supreme Court, Souter says he’s not a fan of politics and wants to settle in his home state of New Hampshire.

NPR reports that these females may likely end up on Obama’s short list:

• Elena Kagan, the current solicitor general who represents the government before the Supreme Court;
• Sonia Sotomayor, a Hispanic judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit;
• Diane Wood, a federal judge in Chicago who taught at the University of Chicago at the same time future President Barack Obama was teaching constitutional law there.

The New Republic also suggests Obama will likely pick a woman:

A Democratic, female John Roberts would be a highly respected Democratic Supreme Court advocate, and the clear front-runner in that category is Beth S. Brinkmann, 49, a partner at Morrison & Foerster who has argued more than 20 cases before the Court. A lawyer like Brinkmann — moderate, pragmatic and pro-business — would have no trouble being confirmed to an appellate courtship, but there might not be enough time to get her through: Bush was able to promote Roberts from private practice only because there were no Supreme Court vacancies in his first term. A Democratic president may not have this luxury.