Justice Stevens, 88, not ready to retire

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, at 88, isn't showing any signs he's considering retiring from the bench, observers say.

Stevens, who leads the high court's aging liberal wing, remains vigorous, still plays tennis, swims in the ocean and says he doesn't consider the Supreme Court's workload to be overly taxing, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

A prime motivation for some voters in backing the campaign of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama was to ensure a Democratic president would be in a position to replace Stevens and fellow Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75, and David Souter, 69, with other liberals. But none of them, especially Stevens, has indicated any plans to retire soon, the newspaper said.

Stevens told questioners at a Monday event held by the University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law that he still enjoys his work and has no imminent plans to retire, the Post reported.

Stevens is now the second-oldest justice in the court's history, trailing only Oliver Wendell Holmes, who retired at 90. If he serves four more years, Stevens would become the Supreme Court's longest-serving justice.