Politico by JEFF GREENFIELD 12/29/2019
John Paul Stevens: The Pessimist of the Supreme Court
1920–2019
If you’re looking for the most despairing words ever set down by the late Justice John Paul Stevens, you’re likely to turn to the closing words of his dissent in Bush v. Gore, when a 5-4 Court majority effectively handed the White House to George W. Bush.
“Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s presidential election,†Stevens wrote, “the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.â€
In a broader sense, however, the real cri de coeur can be found in the pages of his book, Six Amendments, published in 2014. In offering a half a-dozen proposals to revise the Constitution, Stevens gives us a stark, if understated, view of just how far the Supreme Court has drifted from once-established standards, and how hopeless it is to imagine the Court expanding its concepts of fairness and justice.
Stevens, who died on July 16 at the age of 99, is being remembered today as a justice who combined passionate advocacy with civility, a thoughtful bow-tied figure who was unafraid to change his mind, a trait often in short supply among the leadership class. But it is just as accurate to remember him as a deep pessimist about what has happened to the high court as an instrument for expanding justice, a man who believed that the radical shift in the Court’s direction required radical remedies.
More:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/12/29/john-paul-stevens-the-pessimist-of-the-supreme-court-089590
