The long-term future of government policies on abortion, the death penalty, use of torture and a number of other issues are at stake in the 2008 presidential election.
Experts believe this year's election is significant because the president's power to appoint justices to the Supreme Court has the potential to substantially alter policies in the long run.
"It is quite likely that the next president will name at least one and up to three judges," which could shift the balance of the court, said Political Science professor Rogers Smith.
He added that the justice most likely to retire is John Paul Stevens, who, at 88, is the oldest sitting judge. Although Stevens was appointed by Gerald Ford, a Republican, he is one of the most liberal justices.
Law professor Theodore Ruger added that it is possible another liberal judge, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, 75, will also retire soon.
Because the judges most likely to retire are liberal, the balance of power could drastically shift, says Law professor Kermit Roosevelt.
The nine member Supreme Court is currently divided fairly evenly on a number of issues affecting civil rights and civil liberties, Roosevelt added.
If Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is elected, the balance in the court is likely to remain the same, Ruder said.
Roosevelt agreed, adding that "an Obama presidency would be less likely to shift the court drastically to the left."
However, if Republican nominee John McCain is elected, he could replace the liberal judges likely to retire with conservative ones. McCain "could shift the Court drastically to the right," Roosevelt wrote in an e-mail.
There are many issues before the court where one vote could swing the verdict.
These include torture, abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, death penalty, free speech and the second amendment.
On all of these issues, a court with McCain appointees would be more likely to side with conservative views.
Smith said Justice Stevens in particular is a staunch supporter of affirmative action and wrote a decision upholding the federal government's power to take land for governmental purposes.
He added that both McCain and Obama believe people should take the Supreme Court into consideration when they head to the polls.
McCain has said Obama will appoint judges who will legislate from the bench, while Obama contends that McCain will appoint judges who will hurt people's civil rights and civil liberties.
