Supreme Court justices may not resign until election is settled in 2004.

Byline: David Jackson and Allen Pusey

WASHINGTON _ Lawyers and journalists who packed the ornate Supreme Court chamber last week gasped when Chief Justice William Rehnquist solemnly announced a retirement:

Court librarian Shelley Dowling had decided to call it quits.

Court observers, interest groups, attorneys and protesters spent much of the just-finished term speculating that at least one justice _ perhaps even the chief justice himself _ would retire, sparking a brutal political war over President Bush's choice for a lifetime appointment. Instead, the expected fight _ sharpened by last week's rulings in favor of affirmative action and gay rights _ remains on hold.

And barring a sudden death or disability, it could stay that way for a while. Analysts questioned whether any justice would voluntarily step aside on the cusp of a presidential election, especially given the court's role in the disputed Bush-Gore election of 2000.

"If they're not going to do it this year, they're not going to deliberately throw open the argument in the middle of an election campaign," said Douglas Kmiec, dean of the law school ...