stevens addresses his letter to the president with his formal notification beginning the letter my dear mr. president telling him he intends to leave the court when his regular term ends in late june. about the only thing surprising about this announcement is the timing coming out today. it was widely expected he would announce his decision this month because he turns 90 on april 20th and he has strongly signaled in recent weeks that he would be stepping down after more than 34 years of service. though he was put on the court by president gerald ford, he has been solidly in the court s liberal wing in recent years so the appointment of his successor by a democratic president won t change the court s ideological makeup. among possible nominees are elena kagan and diana wood of kake and mayor rick garland from here in washington. the white house already has a list of possible nominees for the president to consider because they went through this last year with sonia sotomayor.