Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
John Paul Stevens
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|United States Supreme Court justice from 1975 to 2010}} {{Redirect|Justice Stevens}} {{Pp-move}} {{Use American English|date=February 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = John Paul Stevens, SCOTUS photo portrait.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2006 | office = [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] | nominator = [[Gerald Ford]] | term_start = December 19, 1975<!--Term start date as per www.supremecourt.gov, reflects date oath taken--> | term_end = June 29, 2010 | predecessor = [[William O. Douglas]] | successor = [[Elena Kagan]] | office1 = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] | nominator1 = [[Richard Nixon]] | term_start1 = November 2, 1970 | term_end1 = December 19, 1975 | predecessor1 = [[Elmer Jacob Schnackenberg]] | successor1 = [[Harlington Wood Jr.]] | birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|04|20}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois,<!--Links not needed per MOS:OVERLINK--> U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|07|16|1920|04|20}} | death_place = {{nowrap|[[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], U.S.}} | resting_place = [[Arlington National Cemetery]] | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Elizabeth Sheeren|1942|1979|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Maryan Mulholland Simon|1979|2015|end=died}} }} | children = 4 | education = {{plainlist| * [[University of Chicago]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]]) * {{nowrap|[[Northwestern University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}}} | awards = [[File:Presidential Medal of Freedom (ribbon).svg|23px]] [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (2012)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Tom|date=2012-05-29|title=Albright, Dylan among recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/us/medal-of-freedom/index.html|access-date=2022-07-17|publisher=CNN|language=en}}</ref> | signature = John Paul Stevens Signature.svg | signature_alt = Cursive signature in ink | module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=John Paul Stevens delivers the opinion of the Court in Whalen v. Roe.ogg|title=John Paul Stevens's voice|type=speech|description=John Paul Stevens delivers the opinion of the Court in ''[[Whalen v. Roe]]''<br />Recorded February 22, 1977}} | branch = {{flag|United States Navy}} | serviceyears = 1942–1945 | battles = {{tree list}} * [[World War II]] ** [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater]] ** [[Operation Vengeance]] {{tree list/end}} | rank = {{Dodseal|USNO4|25}} [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant commander]] | mawards = {{plainlist| * [[File:Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg|23px]] [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] * [[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|23px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]] }} | allegiance = {{flag|United States}} }} {{liberalism US|jurists}} '''John Paul Stevens''' (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an [[associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldest justice in the history of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] and the third-[[List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office|longest-serving justice]]. At the time of his death in 2019 at age 99, he was the longest-lived Supreme Court justice ever.<ref name="ABAJ01">{{cite web | url=http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/article/john_paul_stevens_second_oldest_justice_ever | title=John Paul Stevens Second-Oldest Justice Ever | last=Weiss | first=Debra Cassens | work=[[ABA Journal]] | publisher=[[American Bar Association]] | date=November 19, 2007 | access-date=2023-03-03 | language=en-us | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130918183721/http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/article/john_paul_stevens_second_oldest_justice_ever | archive-date=September 18, 2013 | quote=John Paul Stevens because [became?] the second-oldest justice ever to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court | ref=ABAJ01 }}</ref><ref> {{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111702971.html|title=From Justice Stevens, No Exit Signs|date=November 18, 2008|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=September 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112203737/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2008-11-18/politics/36793696_1_second-oldest-justice-justice-john-paul-stevens-oral-arguments|archive-date=November 12, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> His long tenure saw him write for the Court on most issues of American law, including [[civil liberties]], the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]], government action, and intellectual property. Despite being a registered [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] who throughout his life identified as a conservative,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/22/744079329/former-supreme-court-justice-stevens-lies-in-repose |title=Former Supreme Court Justice Stevens Lies In Repose |last1=Naylor |first1=Brian |date=July 22, 2019 |publisher=NPR |access-date=July 22, 2019 |last2=Totenberg |first2=Nina |language=en |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125173927/https://www.npr.org/2019/07/22/744079329/former-supreme-court-justice-stevens-lies-in-repose |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Totenberg |first1=Nina |title=Retired Justice John Paul Stevens, A Maverick On The Bench, Dies At 99 |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/103908524/justice-john-paul-stevens-a-maverick-on-the-bench-dies-at-99 |access-date=25 April 2023 |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425084211/https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/103908524/justice-john-paul-stevens-a-maverick-on-the-bench-dies-at-99 |archive-date=25 April 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> Stevens was considered to have been on the liberal side of the Court at the time of his retirement.<ref name="Rosen-2007"/><ref name=lane/> Born in Chicago, Stevens served in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] and graduated from [[Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law|Northwestern University School of Law]]. After clerking for Justice [[Wiley Rutledge]], he co-founded a law firm in Chicago, focusing on [[United States antitrust law|antitrust law]]. In 1970, President [[Richard Nixon]] appointed Stevens to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]]. Five years later, President [[Gerald Ford]] successfully nominated Stevens to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Justice [[William O. Douglas]]. He became the senior associate justice after the retirement of [[Harry Blackmun]] in 1994. After the death of Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]], Stevens briefly acted in the capacity of Chief Justice before the appointment of [[John Roberts]]. Stevens retired in 2010 during the administration of President [[Barack Obama]] and was succeeded by [[Elena Kagan]]. Stevens's majority opinions in landmark cases include ''[[Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.]]'', ''[[Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council]]'', ''[[Apprendi v. New Jersey]]'', ''[[Hamdan v. Rumsfeld]]'', ''[[NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co.]]'', ''[[Kelo v. City of New London]]'', ''[[Gonzales v. Raich]]'', ''[[U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton]]'', and ''[[Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency]]''. Stevens is also known for his dissents in ''[[Texas v. Johnson]]'', ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'', ''[[Bethel School District v. Fraser|Bethel v. Fraser]]'', ''[[District of Columbia v. Heller]]'', ''[[Printz v. United States]]'', and ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]''. == Life and career == === Early life and education (1920–1947) === Stevens was born on April 20, 1920, in [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]],<ref name=cbn>William Mullen, [https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/04/09/justice-john-paul-stevens-has-strong-chicago-ties/ "Justice John Paul Stevens has strong Chicago ties"], WGN, (April 9, 2010).</ref> Chicago, Illinois, to a wealthy family.<ref name="Rosen-2007" /><ref name="Lane-2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-paul-stevens-longtime-leader-of-supreme-courts-liberal-wing-dies-at-99/2019/07/16/701232a2-a829-11e9-86dd-d7f0e60391e9_story.html|title=John Paul Stevens, longtime leader of Supreme Court's liberal wing, dies at 99|last=Lane|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Lane (journalist)|date=July 16, 2019|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=July 18, 2019|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211180509/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-paul-stevens-longtime-leader-of-supreme-courts-liberal-wing-dies-at-99/2019/07/16/701232a2-a829-11e9-86dd-d7f0e60391e9_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His paternal grandfather had formed an insurance company and held real estate in Chicago, and his granduncle owned the [[Chas A. Stevens]] department store. His father, Ernest James Stevens (1884–1972), was a lawyer who later became an hotelier, owning two hotels: the La Salle and the [[Stevens Hotel]]. The family lost ownership of the hotels during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], and Stevens's father, grandfather, and an uncle were charged with [[embezzlement]]; the [[Supreme Court of Illinois|Illinois Supreme Court]] later overturned the conviction, criticizing the prosecution.<ref name="Lane1">{{Cite news |last=Lane |first=Charles |date=July 17, 2019 |title=Hyde Park to High Court |page=1 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref><ref name="Rosen-2007" /> His mother, Elizabeth Street Stevens (1881–1979), was a high school English teacher.<ref name="NYTObit" /> Two of his three older brothers also became lawyers.<ref name="NYTObit">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/john-paul-stevens-dead.html|title=Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Who Led Court's Liberal Wing, Dies at 99|last1=Greenhouse, Linda|date=July 16, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 16, 2019|author1-link=Linda Greenhouse|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211043554/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/john-paul-stevens-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A lifelong [[Chicago Cubs]] fan, Stevens was 12 when he attended the [[1932 World Series]] between the Yankees and the Cubs in Chicago's [[Wrigley Field]], in which [[Babe Ruth]] allegedly [[Babe Ruth's called shot|called his shot]].<ref name="Lane-2019" /> Stevens later recalled: "Ruth did point to the center-field scoreboard. And he did hit the ball out of the park after he pointed with his bat, so it really happened."<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=After Stevens|last=Toobin|first=Jeffrey|author-link=Jeffrey Toobin|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/03/22/after-stevens|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 22, 2010|page=41|access-date=March 28, 2018|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617105111/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/03/22/after-stevens|url-status=live}}</ref> He also had the opportunity to meet several notable people of the era, including the famed aviators [[Amelia Earhart]] and [[Charles Lindbergh]], the latter of whom gave him a caged dove as a gift.<ref name="Lane-2019" /><ref>Terry Stephan, "A Justice For All", Northwestern Magazine, Spring 2009. p. 16.</ref> The family lived in [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]], and Stevens attended the [[University of Chicago Laboratory Schools]] where he graduated in 1937. He later attended the [[University of Chicago]], where he majored in [[English studies|English]], was inducted into [[Phi Beta Kappa]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbk.org/justices|title=PBK - Phi Beta Kappa Supreme Court Justices|website=pbk.org|access-date=July 17, 2019|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021052840/https://www.pbk.org/Justices|url-status=live}}</ref> and graduated with highest honors in 1941.<ref name="Greenhouse-2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/john-paul-stevens-dead.html|title=Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Who Led Liberal Wing, Dies at 99|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=July 16, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 19, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211043554/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/john-paul-stevens-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref> While in college, Stevens also became a member of the [[Psi Upsilon]] fraternity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-justice-ohn-paul-stevens-chicago-ties-20190717-spdktsolojdlznw2zquvn3wo5q-story.html|title=Retired Justice John Paul Stevens had many ties to Chicago — here are a few of them|last=Greene|first=Morgan|date=July 16, 2019|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724200723/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-justice-ohn-paul-stevens-chicago-ties-20190717-spdktsolojdlznw2zquvn3wo5q-story.html|archive-date=July 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> He began work on his master's degree in English at the university in 1941 but soon decided to join the [[United States Navy]]. He enlisted on December 6, 1941, one day before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], and served as an intelligence officer in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater]] from 1942 to 1945.<ref name="Liptak-2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/politics/john-paul-stevens-dies-supreme-court.html|title=John Paul Stevens: Canny Strategist and the 'Finest Legal Mind' Ford Could Find|last=Liptak|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Liptak|date=July 16, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 18, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718012928/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/politics/john-paul-stevens-dies-supreme-court.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Stevens was awarded a [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] for his service in the codebreaking team whose work led to the downing of [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]]'s plane in 1943 ([[Operation Vengeance]]).<ref name="Rosen-2007" /><ref name="Lane-2019" /> He also earned the [[World War II Victory Medal]] and later received the highest United States civilian award, the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], from former [[Barack Obama|President Barack Obama]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-21 |title=#VeteranOfTheDay Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens - VA News |url=https://news.va.gov/63428/veteranoftheday-navy-veteran-john-paul-stevens/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=news.va.gov |language=en-US}}</ref> Stevens married Elizabeth Jane Shereen in June 1942. Divorcing her in 1979, he married Maryan Mulholland Simon that December; that marriage lasted until Simon's death in 2015 following complications from hip surgery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2010/03/the-supreme-spouses/|title=The Supreme Spouses|last=Hill|first=Kashmir|website=Above the Law|date=March 15, 2010 |language=en-US|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924024551/https://abovethelaw.com/2010/03/the-supreme-spouses/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/07/politics/maryan-stevens-dies-retired-justice-john-paul/index.html|title=Wife of retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies - CNNPolitics|first=Eugene|last=Scott|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=August 7, 2015|access-date=November 4, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107030821/http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/07/politics/maryan-stevens-dies-retired-justice-john-paul/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He had four children: John Joseph (who died of cancer in 1996),<ref name="Greenhouse-2019" /> Kathryn (who died in 2018), Elizabeth, and Susan.<ref name="Lane-2019" /> With the end of World War II, Stevens returned to Illinois, intending to return to his studies in English, but was persuaded by his brother Richard, who was a lawyer, to attend law school. Stevens enrolled in the [[Northwestern University School of Law]] in 1945, with the [[G.I. Bill]] paying most of his tuition. Stevens graduated in 1947 ranked first in his class with a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] ''[[Latin honors#United States|magna cum laude]]'', having earned the highest [[GPA]] in the school's history.<ref>{{Cite web | title = John Paul Stevens | work = Supreme Court Collection | publisher = Cornell University Law School | url = http://www4.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/stevens.bio.html | access-date = May 1, 2009 | archive-date = April 25, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090425053109/http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/stevens.bio.html | url-status = live }}</ref> === Legal career, 1947–1970 === After receiving high recommendations from several Northwestern faculty members,<ref name="Rosen-2007" /> Stevens served as a [[Law clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States|law clerk]] to [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] justice [[Wiley Rutledge]] during the 1947–48 term.<ref name="Lane-2019" /> Following his clerkship, Stevens returned to Chicago and joined the law firm of Poppenhusen, Johnston, Thompson & Raymond (now [[Jenner & Block]]). Stevens was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] in 1949. He determined that he would not stay long at the Poppenhusen firm after being docked his pay for the day he took off to travel to [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]] to swear his oath of admission. During his time at the firm, Stevens began his practice in [[United States antitrust law|antitrust law]]. In 1951, he returned to Washington, DC, to serve as associate counsel to the Subcommittee on the Study of Monopoly Power of the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|Judiciary Committee]] of the U.S. [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. During this time, the subcommittee worked on several highly publicized investigations in many industries, most notably [[Major League Baseball]].<ref name="Lane-2019" /> In 1952, Stevens returned to Chicago and, together with two other young lawyers with whom he had worked at Poppenhusen, Johnston, Thompson & Raymond, formed his own law firm: Rothschild, Stevens, Barry & Myers. It soon developed into a successful practice, with Stevens continuing to focus on antitrust cases. His growing expertise in antitrust law led to an invitation to teach the "Competition and Monopoly" course at the University of Chicago Law School, and from 1953 to 1955, he was a member of the [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]]'s National Committee to Study Antitrust Laws. At the same time, Stevens was making a name for himself as a first-rate antitrust litigator and was involved in a number of trials. He was widely regarded by colleagues as an extraordinarily capable and impressive lawyer with a fantastic memory and analytical ability, and authored a number of influential works on antitrust law.<ref>John Paul Stevens, Exemptions from Antitrust Coverage, 37 Antitrust L.J. 706 (1972); John Paul Stevens, Cost Justification, 8 Antitrust Bull. 413 (1963); John Paul Stevens, The Regulation of Railroads, 19 Antitrust L.J. 355 (1961); John Paul Stevens, The Robinson–Patman Act Prohibitions, 38 Chicago Bar Rec. 310 (1956); John Paul Stevens, Tying Arrangements, in Northwestern Antitrust Conference on the Antitrust Laws and the Attorney General's Committee Report (1955); John Paul Stevens, Defense of Meeting the Lower Price of a Competitor, in 1953 Summer Institute on Federal Antitrust Laws, University of Michigan Law School; Book Review, 28 Notre Dame L. Rev. 430 (1952); Edward R. Johnston & John Paul Stevens, Monopoly or Monopolization – A Reply to Professor Rostow, 44 Ill. L. Rev. 269 (1949).</ref> In 1969, the Greenberg Commission, appointed by the [[Illinois Supreme Court]] to investigate [[Sherman Skolnick]]'s corruption allegations leveled at former chief justice [[Ray Klingbiel]] and then-current chief justice [[Roy Solfisburg]], named Stevens as its counsel, meaning that he essentially served as the commission's [[special prosecutor]].<ref name="Rosen-2007" /> The commission was widely thought to be a whitewash, but Stevens proved them wrong by vigorously prosecuting the justices, forcing them from office in the end.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Illinois Justice: The Scandal of 1969 and the Rise of John Paul Stevens|last=Manaster|first=Kenneth A.|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=2001|location=Chicago}}</ref> As a result of the prominence he gained during the Greenberg Commission, Stevens became the second vice president of the [[Chicago Bar Association]] in 1970. === Judicial career, 1970–2010 === [[File:President Ford with Warren Burger and John Paul Stevens - NARA - 7141555.jpg|thumb|Stevens with President [[Gerald Ford]] and Chief Justice [[Warren E. Burger]] on December 19, 1975, the day he took his seat on the Supreme Court]] Stevens's role in the Greenberg Commission catapulted him to prominence and was largely responsible for President [[Richard Nixon]]'s decision to appoint Stevens as a judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] in 1970. His nomination was put forth by a former [[University of Chicago]] classmate, Illinois Senator [[Charles H. Percy]].<ref name="Lane-2019" /><ref name="Ward-2019">{{Cite news|url=http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/a_man_of_moderation|title=Man of Moderation: Last Justice of 'Greatest Generation,' Says Farewell|last=Ward|first=Stephanie Francis|date=May 1, 2019|work=[[ABA Journal]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724201008/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/a_man_of_moderation|archive-date=July 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> On November 28, 1975, President [[Gerald Ford]] [[Nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States|nominated]] Stevens as an [[associate justice of the United States Supreme Court]], to a seat vacated by [[William O. Douglas]].<ref name=FJCStevens>{{cite web| title=Stevens, John Paul| url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/stevens-john-paul| publisher=Federal Judicial Center| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 14, 2022}}</ref> Again, it was Percy who suggested Stevens; the nomination was also strongly supported by Attorney General [[Edward Levi]], former president of the University of Chicago.<ref name=Lane1 /> He was [[Oath of office#Federal judiciary oaths|sworn into office]] December 19, 1975,<ref name=SCOTUSjustices>{{cite web| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx| title= Justices 1789 to Present| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 14, 2022}}</ref> after being confirmed 98–0 by the [[U.S. Senate]] two days before.<ref name="NYTObit" /><ref name="Greene-2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/17/opinion/john-paul-stevens.html|title=John Paul Stevens Was Justice Incarnate|last=Greene|first=Jamal|date=July 17, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 18, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717233102/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/17/opinion/john-paul-stevens.html|url-status=live}}</ref> When [[Harry Blackmun]] retired in 1994, Stevens became the senior associate justice and thus assumed the administrative duties of the Court whenever the post of [[Chief Justice of the United States]] was vacant or the chief justice was unable to perform his duties. Stevens performed the duties of chief justice in September 2005, between the death of Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]] and the swearing-in of his replacement, [[John Roberts]], and presided over oral arguments on a number of occasions when the chief justice was ill or recused. Also in September 2005, Stevens was honored with a symposium by [[Fordham Law School]] for his 30 years on the Supreme Court, and President Ford wrote a letter stating his continued pride in appointing him.<ref>[http://law.fordham.edu/17679.htm The Jurisprudence of Justice John Paul Stevens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112192207/http://law.fordham.edu/17679.htm |date=November 12, 2013}}, ''[[Fordham Law School]]'', April 9, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://law.fordham.edu/assets/Newsroom/FordhamLRev74_PresidentFordLetter.pdf.pdf Justice John Paul Stevens, 30 Years on the Supreme Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211145239/http://law.fordham.edu/assets/Newsroom/FordhamLRev74_PresidentFordLetter.pdf.pdf |date=December 11, 2011}}, President Ford, ''[[Fordham Law School]]'', September 21, 2005.</ref> In a 2005 speech, Stevens stressed the importance of "learning on the job"; for example, during his tenure on the Court, Stevens changed his views on [[affirmative action]] (which he initially opposed), as well as on other issues.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=2008-04-18|title=Justice Stevens Renounces Capital Punishment|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/washington/18memo.html|access-date=2023-07-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> President Ford praised Stevens in 2005: "He is serving his nation well, with dignity, intellect and without partisan political concerns."<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-10-09-bush-miers-edit_x.htm | work=USA Today | title=Bush's words saddle Miers: 'She's not going to change' | first=Tony | last=Mauro | date=October 9, 2005 | access-date=May 7, 2010 | archive-date=November 18, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118015513/http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-10-09-bush-miers-edit_x.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, he participated actively in questioning during oral arguments.<ref name="lane">Charles Lane, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/20/AR2006022001196.html "With Longevity on Court, Stevens' Center-Left Influence Has Grown"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030210057/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/20/AR2006022001196.html |date=October 30, 2020 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', February 21, 2006.</ref> Stevens was elected a fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2008.<ref name=AAAS>{{Cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter S|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterS.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=April 6, 2011|archive-date=October 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005022307/http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterS.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=John+Paul+Stevens&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=May 3, 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org|archive-date=May 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503170832/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=John+Paul+Stevens&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Swearing-In of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Stevens (right) swears in [[John Roberts]] as [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] on September 29, 2005, while Roberts' wife Jane and President [[George W. Bush]] look on. Ceremony in the [[East Room]] of the White House]] On January 20, 2009, Stevens administered the [[oath of office]] to Vice President [[Joe Biden]] at Biden's request.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012000242.html | title=In culminating moment, Biden is vice president | author=Feller, Ben | agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=The Washington Post | date=January 20, 2009 | access-date=January 30, 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> It is customary for the vice president to be inaugurated by the person of their choice. On April 9, 2010, Stevens announced his intention to retire from the Supreme Court;<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/JPS_resignation_letter.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody Justice Stevens Retirement Letter to President Obama] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112195759/http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/JPS_resignation_letter.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody |date=November 12, 2013 }}, April 9, 2010.</ref> he subsequently retired on June 29 of that year.<ref>[https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/journal/jnl09.pdf United States Supreme Court Journal for October 2009 – June 2010 Term] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215223635/https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/journal/jnl09.pdf |date=February 15, 2017 }}, June 28, 2010, entry.</ref> Stevens said that his decision to retire from the Court was initially triggered when he stumbled on several sentences when delivering his oral dissent in the 2010 landmark case ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]''.<ref name="NYTObit" /> Stevens said "I took that as a warning sign that maybe I've been around longer than I should."<ref>{{Citation|last=PBS NewsHour|title=How retired Justice Stevens would change the constitution|date=April 21, 2014|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeNSDzdEE9I| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/MeNSDzdEE9I| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> === Tenure and age === [[File:John Paul Stevens and Elena Kagan 10-1-2010.jpg|thumb|Stevens with his successor [[Elena Kagan]] in 2010]] Stevens retired on June 29, 2010, as the [[List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by time in office|third-longest-serving justice]] in the history of the Supreme Court with 34 years and six months of service and just three days short of tying the tenure of the second-longest serving justice in history, [[Stephen Johnson Field]], who had retired on December 1, 1897. The longest-serving justice is Stevens's immediate predecessor, Justice [[William O. Douglas]], who served 36{{frac|1|2}} years and retired on November 12, 1975. He was the last sitting Supreme Court justice to serve on the [[Burger Court]]. Stevens was also the second-oldest justice, at age 90 years and two months at retirement, behind [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.]] who retired at the age of 90 years and 10 months on January 12, 1932. On July 23, 2015, Stevens became the longest-lived retired justice, surpassing [[Stanley Forman Reed]] who died at age 95 years and 93 days on April 2, 1980. On June 26, 2015, Stevens attended the Court's announcement of the opinion in ''[[Obergefell v. Hodges]]'', in which the Court ruled 5–4 that recognition of [[same-sex marriage]] is protected under the Constitution's [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html|title=Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide|last1=Liptak, Adam|date=June 25, 2015|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=June 27, 2015|quote=Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired in 2010, was on hand for the decision|author1-link=Adam Liptak|archive-date=May 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516211629/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> === Political affiliation === When he was appointed to the Supreme Court, Stevens was a registered [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].<ref>[[Bryan A. Garner]] (ed.), ''Black's Law Dictionary'' (8th ed., West: St. Paul, Minnesota) p. 1792.</ref> In September 2007, he was a sitting Justice when he was asked if he still considered himself a Republican. Stevens replied, "That's the kind of issue I shouldn't comment on, either in private or in public."<ref name="Rosen-2007">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23stevens-t.html|title=The Dissenter, Justice John Paul Stevens|last=Rosen|first=Jeffrey|date=September 23, 2007|newspaper=[[The New York Times Magazine]]|access-date=April 11, 2010|page=50|author-link=Jeffrey Rosen (legal academic)|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124133243/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23stevens-t.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Stevens was generally considered to be one of the last-surviving [[Rockefeller Republicans]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.macleans.ca/general/john-paul-stevens-announces-retirement/|title=John Paul Stevens announces retirement|date=April 9, 2010|work=[[Maclean's]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718013938/https://www.macleans.ca/general/john-paul-stevens-announces-retirement/|archive-date=July 18, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Abner Mikva]], a close friend, said that as a judge, Stevens refused to discuss politics. "He was more particular about it than a lot of them," Mikva stated.<ref name="Ward-2019" /> In October 2018, Stevens said that [[Brett Kavanaugh]]'s performance during [[Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination|his confirmation hearings]] should disqualify him from serving on the Supreme Court, citing the potential for political bias.<ref name="Reuters">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-kavanaugh-stevens/kavanaugh-does-not-belong-on-supreme-court-says-retired-justice-stevens-idUSKCN1ME2P8|title=Kavanaugh does not belong on Supreme Court, retired Justice Stevens says|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=October 5, 2018|archive-date=October 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004234332/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-kavanaugh-stevens/kavanaugh-does-not-belong-on-supreme-court-says-retired-justice-stevens-idUSKCN1ME2P8|url-status=live}}</ref> Kavanaugh was nominated by Republican president [[Donald Trump]].<ref name="Reuters" /> Shortly before Stevens' death in 2019, he said he was "not a fan" of Donald Trump, and when asked about Trump's effect on the country, he stated "I don't think it's been favorable."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Former Justice Stevens on the 3 worst Supreme Court decisions of his tenure|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/former-justice-stevens-on-the-3-worst-supreme-court-decisions-of-his-tenure|publisher=[[PBS]]|date=May 15, 2019|access-date=November 29, 2020|archive-date=December 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228222846/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/former-justice-stevens-on-the-3-worst-supreme-court-decisions-of-his-tenure|url-status=live}}</ref> == Judicial philosophy == On the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]], Stevens had a moderately [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] record. Early in his tenure on the Supreme Court, Stevens had a relatively moderate voting record. He voted to reinstate [[capital punishment in the United States]] and opposed race-based admissions programs, such as the program at issue in ''[[Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke|Regents of the University of California v. Bakke]]'', {{Ussc|438|265|1978}}. However, on the more conservative [[William Rehnquist|Rehnquist]] Court, Stevens joined the more liberal justices on issues such as [[Abortion-rights movements|abortion rights]], [[LGBT rights by country or territory|gay rights]] and [[federalism]]. His [[Segal–Cover score]], a measure of the perceived liberalism/conservatism of Court members when they joined the Court, places him squarely on the conservative side of the Court.<ref name="perceived">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/polisci/jsegal/QualTable.pdf|title=Perceived Qualifications and Ideology of Supreme Court Nominees, 1937-2012|last1=Segal|first1=Jeffrey A.|access-date=April 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215100705/http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/polisci/jsegal/QualTable.pdf|archive-date=February 15, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, a 2003 statistical analysis of Supreme Court voting patterns found Stevens the most liberal member of the Court.<ref>''See'', [http://pooleandrosenthal.com/the_unidimensional_supreme_court.htm The Unidimensional Supreme Court, July 10, 2003.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113065927/http://pooleandrosenthal.com/the_unidimensional_supreme_court.htm |date=January 13, 2012 }}</ref><ref>Lawrence Sirovich, [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/1132164100v1 "A Pattern Analysis of the Second Rehnquist Court"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060624053607/http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/1132164100v1 |date=June 24, 2006 }}, Proceedings of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] 100 (June 24, 2003).</ref> President Ford expressed no regrets about Stevens's drift toward liberalism, writing in a 2005 letter to ''[[USA Today]]'', "Justice Stevens has made me, and our fellow citizens, proud of my three decade old decision to appoint him to the Supreme Court."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ford |first=Gerald |author-link=Gerald Ford |date=September 21, 2005 |title=Letter from Gerald R. Ford |journal=USA Today |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-04-14-fordletter_N.htm |access-date=February 19, 2016 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233042/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-04-14-fordletter_N.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Stevens's jurisprudence has usually been characterized as [[Idiosyncrasy|idiosyncratic]]. Stevens, unlike most justices, reviewed petitions for [[certiorari]] within his chambers instead of having his [[law clerk]]s participate as part of the [[cert pool]] and usually wrote the first drafts of his opinions himself;<ref name="Liptak-2019" /><ref name="Greene-2019" /> when asked to explain why, he said: "I'm the one hired to do the job." He further explained that he continued to learn about cases and legal theories as he drafted his opinions and re-evaluates his positions on cases while writing.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peppers |first=Todd C. |date=2006 |title=Courtiers of the Marble Palace: The Rise and Influence of the Supreme Court Law Clerk |location=[[Redwood City, California]] |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |page=195 |isbn=9780804753814}}</ref> He was not an [[originalism|originalist]] (such as [[Antonin Scalia]]) nor a pragmatist (such as Justice [[Stephen Breyer]]), nor did he pronounce himself a cautious liberal (such as Justice [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]).<ref name="Liptak-2019" /> He was considered part of the liberal bloc of the Court starting in the mid-1980s, and was dubbed the "chief justice of the liberal Supreme Court",<ref>Lawrence D. Jones, [http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100316/stevens-mulls-supreme-court-retirement/index.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322205711/http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100316/stevens-mulls-supreme-court-retirement/index.html|date=March 22, 2010}} Justice Stevens Mulls Supreme Court Retirement</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Toobin |first=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Toobin |date=March 22, 2010 |title=After Stevens. What will the Supreme Court be without its liberal leader? |magazine=The New Yorker |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/03/22/100322fa_fact_toobin |access-date=March 31, 2010 |archive-date=March 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316220548/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/03/22/100322fa_fact_toobin |url-status=live }}</ref> though he publicly called himself a judicial conservative in 2007.<ref name="Rosen-2007" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2765753&page=1|title=EXCLUSIVE: Supreme Court Justice Stevens Remembers President Ford|date=January 15, 2007|website=ABC News|access-date=June 28, 2020|archive-date=April 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406222707/https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2765753&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''[[City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc.|Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center]]'', {{Ussc|473|432|1985}}, Stevens argued against the Supreme Court's famous "[[strict scrutiny]]" doctrine for laws involving "suspect classifications", putting forth the view that all classifications should be evaluated using the "rational basis" test as to whether they could have been enacted by an "impartial legislature". In ''[[Burnham v. Superior Court of California]]'', {{Ussc|495|604|1990}}, Stevens demonstrated his independence with a characteristically pithy concurrence. Stevens was once an impassioned critic of [[affirmative action]]; in addition to the 1978 decision in ''Bakke'', he dissented in the case of ''[[Fullilove v. Klutznick]]'', {{Ussc|448|448|1980}}, which upheld a minority set-aside program. He shifted his position over the years and voted to uphold the [[affirmative action]] program at the [[University of Michigan Law School]] challenged in ''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'', {{Ussc|539|306|2003}}. Stevens wrote the majority opinion in ''[[Hamdan v. Rumsfeld]]'' in 2006, in which he held that certain military commissions had been improperly constituted. He also wrote a lengthy dissenting opinion in ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]'', arguing the majority should not make a decision so broad that it would overturn precedents set in three previous Supreme Court cases. When reviewing his career at the Supreme Court in his 2019 book, ''The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years'', Stevens lamented being unable to persuade his colleagues against the decision in ''Citizens United'', which he described as "a disaster for our election law."<ref>[[Jeffrey Rosen (legal academic)|Rosen, Jeffrey]], ''[https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/justice-stevens-was-impartial-end/594184/?silverid-ref=NTgzMTI1ODYxODM2S0 The Impartial Justice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803155652/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/justice-stevens-was-impartial-end/594184/?silverid-ref=NTgzMTI1ODYxODM2S0 |date=August 3, 2020 }}'', The Atlantic, July 17, 2019</ref> [[File:US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens - 1976 official portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|Stevens's official Supreme Court portrait, 1976]] === Freedom of speech === Stevens's views on obscenity under the [[First Amendment of the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] changed over the years. He was initially quite critical of constitutional protection for obscenity, rejecting a challenge to Detroit zoning ordinances that barred adult theaters in designated areas in ''[[Young v. American Mini Theatres]]'', {{Ussc|427|50|1976}}, ("[E]ven though we recognize that the First Amendment will not tolerate the total suppression of [[erotic]] materials that have some arguably artistic value, it is manifest that society's interest in protecting this type of expression is of a wholly different, and lesser, magnitude than the interest in untrammeled political debate"), but later in his tenure adhered firmly to a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] free speech approach on obscenity issues, voting to strike down a federal law regulating online obscene content considered "harmful to minors" in ''[[American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft (2002)|ACLU v. Ashcroft]]'', {{Ussc|535|564|2002}}. In his dissenting opinion, Stevens argued that, while "[a]s a parent, grandparent, and great-grandparent", he endorsed the legislative goal of protecting children from pornography "without reservation", "[a]s a judge, I must confess to a growing sense of unease when the interest in protecting children from prurient materials is invoked as a justification for using criminal regulation of speech as a substitute for, or a simple backup to, adult oversight of children's viewing."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-218|title=FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions.|website=Findlaw|access-date=November 13, 2005|archive-date=May 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515022358/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=03-218|url-status=live}}</ref> Perhaps the most personal and unusual feature of his jurisprudence was his continual referencing of World War II in his opinions. For example, Stevens, a World War II veteran, was visibly angered by [[William Kunstler]]'s flippant defense of flag-burning in oral argument in ''[[Texas v. Johnson]]'', {{Ussc|491|397|1989}} and voted to uphold a prohibition on flag-burning against a [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] argument. Stevens wrote, "The ideas of liberty and equality have been an irresistible force in motivating leaders like [[Patrick Henry]], [[Susan B. Anthony]], and [[Abraham Lincoln]], schoolteachers like [[Nathan Hale]] and [[Booker T. Washington]], the [[Philippine Scouts]] who fought at [[Bataan]], and the soldiers who scaled the bluff at [[Omaha Beach]]. If those ideas are worth fighting for—and our history demonstrates that they are—it cannot be true that the flag that uniquely symbolizes their power is not itself worthy of protection from unnecessary desecration." Stevens generally supported students' right to free speech in public schools. He wrote sharply-worded dissents in ''[[Bethel v. Fraser]]'', {{Ussc|478|675|1986}} and ''[[Morse v. Frederick]]'', {{Ussc|551|393|2007}}, two decisions that restricted students' freedom of speech. However, he joined the Court's ruling on ''[[Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier]]'', {{Ussc|484|260|1988}} which upheld a principal's censorship of a [[student newspaper]]. === Establishment Clause === In ''[[Wallace v. Jaffree]]'', {{Ussc|472|38|1985}}, striking down an Alabama statute mandating a minute of silence in public schools "for meditation or silent prayer", Stevens wrote the opinion for a majority that included justices [[William J. Brennan Jr.|William Brennan]], [[Thurgood Marshall]], [[Harry Blackmun]], and [[Lewis F. Powell Jr.|Lewis Powell]]. He affirmed that the [[Establishment Clause of the First Amendment|Establishment Clause]] is binding on the States via the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]], and that: "Just as the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking are complementary components of a broader concept of individual freedom of mind, so also the individual's freedom to choose his own creed is the counterpart of his right to refrain from accepting the creed of the majority. At one time, it was thought that this right merely proscribed the preference of one Christian sect over another, but would not require equal respect for the conscience of the infidel, the atheist, or the adherent of a non-Christian faith such as Islam or Judaism. But when the underlying principle has been examined in the crucible of litigation, the Court has unambiguously concluded that the individual freedom of conscience protected by the First Amendment embraces the right to select any religious faith or none at all." Stevens wrote a dissent in ''[[Van Orden v. Perry]]'', {{Ussc|545|677|2005}}, in which he was joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; he argued that the ten commandments displayed in the [[Texas Capitol]] grounds transmitted the message: "This State endorses the divine code of the 'Judeo-Christian' God." The Establishment Clause, he wrote, "at the very least ... has created a strong presumption against the display of religious symbols on public property", and that it "demands religious neutrality—Government may not exercise preference for one religious faith over another". This includes a prohibition against enacting laws or imposing requirements that aid all religions as against unbelievers, or aid religions that are based on a belief in the existence of God against those founded on different principles. === Commerce clause and states' rights === When interpreting the [[Interstate Commerce Clause]], Stevens consistently sided with the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]]. He dissented in ''[[United States v. Lopez]]'', {{Ussc|514|549|1995}} and ''[[United States v. Morrison]]'', {{Ussc|529|598|2000}}, two prominent cases in which the [[William Rehnquist|Rehnquist]] court changed direction by holding that Congress had exceeded its constitutional power under the Commerce Clause. He then authored ''[[Gonzales v. Raich]]'', {{Ussc|545|1|2005}}, which permits the federal government to arrest, [[prosecute]], and [[imprison]] patients who use [[medical marijuana]] regardless of whether such use is legally permissible under state law. === Fourth Amendment === Stevens had a generally libertarian voting record on the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]], which deals with [[search and seizure]]. Stevens authored the majority opinion in ''[[Arizona v. Gant]]'', which held that "police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the compartment at the time of the search or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest." He dissented in ''[[New Jersey v. T. L. O.]]'', {{Ussc|469|325|1985}} and ''[[Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton]]'', {{Ussc|515|646|1995}}, both involving searches in schools. He was a dissenter in ''[[Oliver v. United States]]'', {{Ussc|466|170|1984}}, a case relating to the [[open-fields doctrine]]. However, in ''[[United States v. Montoya De Hernandez]]'', {{Ussc|473|531|1985}}, he sided with the government, and he was the author of ''[[United States v. Ross]]'', {{Ussc|456|798|1982}}, which permits the police to search closed containers found in the course of searching a vehicle. He also authored the dissent in ''[[Kyllo v. United States]]'', {{Ussc|533|27|2001}}, which held that the use of thermal imaging requires a warrant. In a 2009 paper, [[Ward Farnsworth]] argued that Stevens's "dissents against type" (in Stevens's case, votes in dissent in favor of the government's position and against the accused, such as the one in ''Kyllo'') suggest that while Stevens "[believed] strongly in laying out resources for the sake of accuracy and opportunities to protest an unfair trial, [he is] not nearly as concerned about restraining the government at the front end of the process, when it is gathering evidence—for the costs of invaded rights then are to ''liberty'' rather than to ''accuracy''".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Farnsworth| first=Ward|author-link=Ward Farnsworth|title=Dissents against type|ssrn=1282072|year=2009}}</ref> === Death penalty === Stevens joined the majority in ''[[Gregg v. Georgia]]'', {{Ussc|428|153|1976}}, which overruled ''[[Furman v. Georgia]]'', {{Ussc|408|238|1972}} and again allowed the use of the death penalty in the United States. In later cases such as ''[[Thompson v. Oklahoma]]'', {{Ussc|487|815|1988}} and ''[[Atkins v. Virginia]]'', {{Ussc|536|304|2002}}, Stevens held that the Constitution forbids the use of the death penalty in certain circumstances. Stevens opposed using the death penalty on [[Minor (law)|juvenile]] offenders; he dissented in ''[[Stanford v. Kentucky]]'', {{Ussc|492|361|1989}} and joined the Court's majority in ''[[Roper v. Simmons]]'', {{Ussc|543|551|2005}}, overturning ''Stanford''. In ''[[Baze v. Rees]]'', {{Ussc|553|35|2008}}, Stevens voted with the majority in upholding Kentucky's method of lethal injection, because he felt bound by ''[[Precedent|stare decisis]]''. However, he opined that "state-sanctioned killing is ... becoming more and more anachronistic" and agreed with former justice [[Byron White]]'s assertion that "the needless extinction of life with only marginal contributions to any discernible social or public purposes ... would be patently excessive", in violation of the [[Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighth Amendment]] (quoting from White's concurrence in ''Furman'').<ref>{{Cite news|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=2008-04-17|title=Justices Uphold Lethal Injection in Kentucky Case|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/washington/17scotus.html|access-date=2023-07-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-5439.ZC1.html|title=BAZE v. REES |website=Legal Information Institute |access-date=June 27, 2017|archive-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629021708/https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-5439.ZC1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Soon after his vote in ''Baze'', Stevens told a [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|Sixth Circuit]] conference that one of the drugs ([[pancuronium bromide]]) in the three-drug cocktail used by Kentucky to execute death row inmates is prohibited in Kentucky for euthanizing animals. He questioned whether Kentucky Derby second-place finisher [[Eight Belles]] died more humanely than those on death row.<ref>Slater, Dan (May 12, 2008), [https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/05/12/eight-belles-euthanasia-more-humane-than-capital-punishment/?mod=WSJBlog/trackback/ "Eight Belle's Euthanasia: More Humane Than Capital Punishment?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108131317/https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/05/12/eight-belles-euthanasia-more-humane-than-capital-punishment/?mod=WSJBlog%2Ftrackback%2F |date=November 8, 2019 }}, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', Associated Press. Retrieved April 12, 2010.</ref> He explained that his death penalty decisions were influenced, in part, by an increasing awareness through [[DNA profiling|DNA testing]] of the fallibility of death sentences, and the fact that death-qualified juries come with a set of biases.<ref>Weiss, Debra Cassens (May 7, 2010).[http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/article/stevens_explains_death_penalty_stance_bow_ties "Stevens Explains Death Penalty Stance, Bow Ties"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130116102722/http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/article/stevens_explains_death_penalty_stance_bow_ties |date=January 16, 2013}}. ''[[ABA Journal]]''.</ref> Stevens, at the time of his opinion in ''Baze'', was one of four justices—the others being [[William J. Brennan Jr.|Brennan]], [[Thurgood Marshall|Marshall]], and [[Harry Blackmun|Blackmun]]—who had concluded that post-''Gregg'' capital punishment is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.<ref>Associated Press (April 6, 2008), [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24163745 Stevens declares opposition to death penalty] . ''[[NBC News]]''.</ref> After his retirement, Stevens stated that his vote in ''Gregg'' was the only vote he regretted.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130198344|title=Justice Stevens: An Open Mind On A Changed Court|last=Totenberg|first=Nina|date=October 4, 2010|publisher=[[NPR]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000848/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130198344|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=live|author-link=Nina Totenberg}}</ref> == Other significant opinions == === ''Chevron'' === Stevens authored the majority opinion in ''[[Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.]]'', {{Ussc|467|837|1984}}.<ref>Breyer, Stewart, Sunstein & Vermeule, ''Administrative Law & Regulatory Policy'', p. 247.</ref> The opinion stands for how courts review administrative agencies' interpretations of their organic statutes. If the organic statute unambiguously expresses the will of Congress, the court enforces the legislature's intent. If the statute is unclear (and is thus thought to reflect a Congressional delegation of power to the agency to interpret the statute), and the agency interpretation has the force of law, courts defer to an agency's interpretation of the statute unless that interpretation is deemed to be "arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute". This doctrine is now generally referred to as "''Chevron'' deference" among legal practitioners.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Greenberg|first=Sanford N.|date=February 26, 1996|title=Who Says It's a Crime?: Chevron Deference to Agency Interpretations of Regulatory Statutes That Create Criminal Liability|url=http://works.bepress.com/sanford_greenberg/2/|journal=[[University of Pittsburgh Law Review]]|volume=58|access-date=April 10, 2010|archive-date=June 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605092127/http://works.bepress.com/sanford_greenberg/2/|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike some other members of the Court, Stevens was consistently willing to find [[Organic statute (United States)|organic statutes]] unambiguous and thus overturn agency interpretations of those statutes. (See his majority opinion in ''[[Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca]]'', {{Ussc|480|421|1987}}, and his dissent in ''Young v. Community Nutrition Institute'', {{Ussc|476|974|1986}}.) Although ''Chevron'' has come to stand for the proposition of deference to agency interpretations, Stevens, the author of the opinion, was less willing to defer to agencies than the rest of his colleagues on the Court. === ''Crawford v. Marion County Election Board'' === Stevens wrote the lead opinion in ''[[Crawford v. Marion County Election Board]]'', a case where the Court upheld the right of states to require an official photo identification card to help ensure that only citizens vote. [[Chief Justice John Roberts]] and Justice Anthony Kennedy joined this opinion, and justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and [[Samuel Alito]] agreed with them on the outcome. Edward B. Foley, an election law expert at [[Ohio State University]], said the Stevens opinion might represent an effort to "depoliticize election law cases."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/washington/29scotus.html|title=In a 6-to-3 Vote, Justices Uphold a Voter ID Law|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|author-link=Linda Greenhouse|date=April 29, 2008|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 24, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718141528/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/washington/29scotus.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Stevens's vote in ''Crawford'' and his agreement with the Court's conservative majority in two other cases during the 2007–2008 term (''[[Medellin v. Texas]]'', {{Ussc|552|491|2008}} and ''[[Baze v. Rees]]'') led [[University of Oklahoma]] law professor and former Stevens clerk [[Joseph Thai]] to wonder if Stevens was "tacking back a little bit toward the center."<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Justice Stevens hard to predict |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2008/05/10/justice-stevens-hard-to-predict/ |access-date=July 17, 2019 |work=The Denver Post |date=May 10, 2008 |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717011020/https://www.denverpost.com/2008/05/10/justice-stevens-hard-to-predict/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite his vote in Crawford, Stevens expressed disagreement with ''[[Shelby County v. Holder]]'', a case that struck down preclearance requirements of the Voting Rights Act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/john-paul-stevens-on-the-supreme-courts-voting-rights-decision/277962/|title=John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court's Voting-Rights Decision|website=The Atlantic|date=July 20, 2013|access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref> === ''Bush v. Gore'' === In ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'', {{Ussc|531|98|2000}}, Stevens wrote a scathing dissent on the Court's ruling to stay the [[2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida|recount of votes in Florida during the 2000 presidential election]]. He believed that the holding displayed "an unstated lack of confidence in the impartiality and capacity of the state judges who would make the critical decisions if the vote count were to proceed". He continued, "The endorsement of that position by the majority of this Court can only lend credence to the most cynical appraisal of the work of judges throughout the land. It is confidence in the men and women who administer the judicial system that is the true backbone of the rule of law. Time will one day heal the wound to that confidence that will be inflicted by today's decision. One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, 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." === Second Amendment === Stevens wrote the primary [[dissenting opinion]] in ''[[District of Columbia v. Heller]]'' {{Ussc|554|570|2008}}, a [[list of landmark court decisions in the United States|landmark case]] which addressed the interpretation of the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] and the [[right to keep and bear arms]]. ''Heller'' [[judicial review in the United States|struck down]] provisions of the [[Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975]] and held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a [[firearm]] unconnected with service in a militia for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. His dissent was joined by justices [[David Souter]], [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], and [[Stephen Breyer]]; the majority opinion was written by Justice [[Antonin Scalia]]. Stevens stated that the Court's judgment was "a strained and unpersuasive reading" which overturned longstanding [[precedent]], and that the Court had "bestowed a dramatic upheaval in the law."<ref name="Greenhouse">{{Cite news |first=Linda |last=Greenhouse |author-link=Linda Greenhouse |title=Justices Rule for Individual Gun Rights |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27scotuscnd.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 27, 2008 |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614172550/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27scotuscnd.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Stevens also stated that the amendment was notable for the "omission of any statement of purpose related to the right to use firearms for hunting or personal self-defense" which was present in the Declarations of Rights of [[Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776#Declaration of Rights|Pennsylvania]] and [[Constitution of Vermont (1777)|Vermont]].<ref name="Greenhouse" /> Stevens' dissent seems to rest on four main points of disagreement: that the Founders would have made the individual right aspect of the Second Amendment express if that was what was intended; that the "militia" preamble and exact phrase "to keep and bear arms" demands the conclusion that the Second Amendment touches on state militia service only; that many lower courts' later "collective-right" reading of the ''Miller'' decision constitutes {{Lang|la|[[stare decisis]]|italic=yes}}, which may only be overturned at great peril; and that the Court has not considered gun-control laws (e.g., the [[National Firearms Act]]) unconstitutional. The dissent concludes, "The Court would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons. ... I could not possibly conclude that the Framers made such a choice." On March 27, 2018, days after the [[March for Our Lives]] demonstrations in the wake of the [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting]], described by many media outlets as a possible [[tipping point (sociology)|tipping point]] for [[gun control]] legislation,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/17/we-last-mass-shooting-florida-students-might-tipping-point-gun-debate/347992002/ |title='We will be the last mass shooting': Florida students want to be tipping point in gun debate |last=Miller |first=Sarah |date=February 17, 2018 |work=[[USA Today]] |access-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326211327/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/17/we-last-mass-shooting-florida-students-might-tipping-point-gun-debate/347992002/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-march-for-our-lives-photographs-from-washington-dc |title=The Fearless, Outraged Young Protesters at the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. |last1=Petrusich |first1=Amanda |last2=Peterson |first2=Mark |date=March 24, 2018 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326063715/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-march-for-our-lives-photographs-from-washington-dc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/5167305/florida-shooting-teachers-gun-control-activism/ |title=Teachers Are Fighting for Gun Control After Parkland |last=Reilly |first=Katie |date=February 21, 2018 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328142120/http://time.com/5167305/florida-shooting-teachers-gun-control-activism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Stevens wrote an essay for ''[[The New York Times]]'', stating that the demonstrators should be demanding the outright repeal of the Second Amendment.<ref name="NYT Repeal the 2nd">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/john-paul-stevens-repeal-second-amendment.html|title=John Paul Stevens: Repeal the Second Amendment|last=Stevens, John Paul|date=March 27, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330024649/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/john-paul-stevens-repeal-second-amendment.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He wrote: {{Blockquote|Concern that a national standing army might pose a threat to the security of the separate states led to the adoption of that amendment, which provides that "a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Today that concern is a relic of the 18th century.<ref name="NYT Repeal the 2nd" />}} == Books == {{External media| float=right| video1=[https://www.c-span.org/video/?301441-1/qa-john-paul-stevens ''Q&A'' interview with Stevens about ''Five Chiefs'', October 9, 2011], [[C-SPAN]]}} In 2011, Stevens published a memoir entitled ''Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir'', which detailed his legal career during the tenure of five of the Supreme Court's [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justices]]. In ''Five Chiefs'', Stevens recounts his time as a law clerk during the tenure of [[Fred M. Vinson|Chief Justice Vinson]]; his experiences as a private attorney during the [[Warren Court|Warren era]]; and his experience while serving as an associate justice on the [[Burger Court|Burger]], [[Rehnquist Court|Rehnquist]], and [[Roberts Court|Roberts]] Courts.<ref>John Paul Stevens, ''Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir'' (2011); Nina Totenberg, ''[https://www.npr.org/2011/10/04/141014851/stevens-chronicles-five-chiefs-of-the-supreme-court Stevens Chronicles 'Five Chiefs' Of The Supreme Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072358/https://www.npr.org/2011/10/04/141014851/stevens-chronicles-five-chiefs-of-the-supreme-court |date=January 23, 2018 }}'', NPR, October 4, 2011.</ref> In 2014, Stevens published ''Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution'', where he proposed that six [[Article V of the U.S. Constitution|amendments]] should be added to the U.S. Constitution to address [[Gerrymandering in the United States|political gerrymandering]], [[Printz v. United States|anti-commandeering]], [[Campaign finance reform in the United States|campaign finance reform]], [[Capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]], [[Gun violence in the United States|gun violence]], and [[Sovereign immunity in the United States|sovereign immunity]].<ref>John Paul Stevens, ''Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution'' (2014); Cass R. Sunstein, ''[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/06/05/justice-stevens-refounding-father/ The Refounding Father] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110171641/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/06/05/justice-stevens-refounding-father/ |date=November 10, 2017 }}'', N.Y. Rev. of Books, June 5, 2014.</ref> In 2019, at age 99 and shortly before his death, Stevens published ''The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/books/review/john-paul-stevens-making-of-a-justice.html|title=Justice John Paul Stevens Looks Back on His Long Career|last=Bazelon|first=Emily|author-link=Emily Bazelon|date=May 14, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 16, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716104515/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/books/review/john-paul-stevens-making-of-a-justice.html|url-status=live}}</ref> == Personal life == Stevens married Elizabeth Sheeren in 1942. He was on the high court when the couple divorced thirty-seven years later in 1979. Later that same year, he married Maryan Simon; they remained married until her death in 2015. Stevens had four children, two of whom predeceased him. Stevens was a [[Protestant]], and upon his retirement, the Supreme Court had no Protestant members for the first time in its history.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/weekinreview/11liptak.html|title=Justice Stevens, the Only Protestant on the Supreme Court|last=Liptak|first=Adam|date=April 10, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110172137/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/weekinreview/11liptak.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="npr lack">[[Nina Totenberg]], "Supreme Court May Soon Lack Protestant Justices," [[NPR]], ''Heard on Morning Edition'', April 7, 2010, found at [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125641988 NPR website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024233413/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125641988 |date=October 24, 2017 }} and transcript found at [https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=125641988 NPR website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103193416/https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=125641988 |date=January 3, 2018 }}. Cited by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, "The Post-Protestant Supreme Court: Christians weigh in on whether it matters that the high court will likely lack Protestant representation," ''[[Christianity Today]]'', April 10, 2010, found at [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/aprilweb-only/24-53.0.html Christianity Today website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322133511/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/aprilweb-only/24-53.0.html |date=March 22, 2016 }}. Also cited by "Does the U.S. Supreme Court need another Protestant?" ''[[USA Today]]'', April 9, 2010, found at [http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/04/supreme-court-justice-stevens-catholic-jewish/1 USA Today website] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130205164440/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/04/supreme-court-justice-stevens-catholic-jewish/1 |date=February 5, 2013 }}. All accessed April 10, 2010.</ref><ref name="WSJW">[[Richard W. Garnett]], "The Minority Court", ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' (April 17, 2010), W3.</ref> He was one of only two Supreme Court justices who divorced while on the Court—the first was [[William O. Douglas]], whom he coincidentally succeeded as an associate justice.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-justice-john-paul-stevens-retiring/|title=Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Retiring|access-date=August 21, 2018|language=en|archive-date=August 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822021858/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-justice-john-paul-stevens-retiring/|url-status=live}}</ref> Stevens was also an avid [[Contract bridge|bridge]] player and belonged to the Pompano Duplicate Bridge Club Florida.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 1, 2018|title=Pompano bridge club members are older, but they're also wiser|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpuWx5iiZsc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/PpuWx5iiZsc| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|via=YouTube|publisher=WPLG Local 10}}{{cbignore}}</ref> === Death === [[File:President Trump and Mrs. Trump Pay Respects to U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (48348802686).jpg|thumb|President [[Donald Trump]] and First Lady [[Melania Trump]] at Stevens's funeral]] On July 16, 2019, Stevens died at the age of 99 at a hospital in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], from complications of a stroke.<ref name="NYTObit" /> He received hospice care and was with his two surviving children, Elizabeth and Susan, when he died.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/16/john-paul-stevens-supreme-court/546358001/ |title=Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dead at age 99 |last=Wolf |first=Richard |date=July 16, 2019 |access-date=July 16, 2019 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717005324/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/16/john-paul-stevens-supreme-court/546358001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He [[Lying in repose|lay in repose]] at the Supreme Court on July 22, 2019<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/john-paul-stevens-to-lie-in-repose-at-supreme-court-on-monday/2019/07/21/defed9ba-abf6-11e9-bc5c-e73b603e7f38_story.html |title=John Paul Stevens lies in repose at Supreme Court today |date=July 22, 2019 |access-date=July 22, 2019 |archive-date=July 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722180413/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/john-paul-stevens-to-lie-in-repose-at-supreme-court-on-monday/2019/07/21/defed9ba-abf6-11e9-bc5c-e73b603e7f38_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> before a planned burial at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] the following day. The service was attended by all the justices on the court, as well as retired justices [[Anthony Kennedy]] and [[David Souter]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/17/arlington-burial-retired-supreme-court-justice-john-paul-stevens/1757556001/ |title=John Paul Stevens will be buried among several other Supreme Court justices in Arlington National Cemetery |first=Jessica |last=Gresko |date=July 17, 2019 |access-date=July 19, 2019 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717215605/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/17/arlington-burial-retired-supreme-court-justice-john-paul-stevens/1757556001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> President [[Donald Trump]] ordered flags to fly at half-staff as a mark of respect on Tuesday, July 23, until sundown.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/Flags-ordered-to-fly-half-staff-for--513041181.html | title=Flags ordered to fly half-staff Tuesday for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | publisher=[[WMTV]] | date=July 22, 2019 | access-date=July 23, 2019 | archive-date=July 23, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723131259/https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/Flags-ordered-to-fly-half-staff-for--513041181.html | url-status=live }}</ref> == In popular culture == Stevens was portrayed by the actor [[William Schallert]] in the 2008 film ''[[Recount (film)|Recount]]''. He was portrayed by David Grant Wright in two episodes of ''[[Boston Legal]]'' in which [[List of Boston Legal characters#Alan Shore|Alan Shore]] and [[List of Boston Legal characters#Denny Crane|Denny Crane]] appear before the Supreme Court. Stevens appeared in interviews in two episodes of [[Ken Burns]]'s 2011 [[PBS]] documentary miniseries ''[[Prohibition (miniseries)|Prohibition]]'', recalling his childhood in Chicago in the 1920s and 30s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prohibition (2011)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1950799/|publisher=[[IMDb]]|date=October 2, 2011|access-date=March 22, 2014|archive-date=January 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126114627/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1950799/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=A Nation of Scofflaws|series=Prohibition |series-link=Prohibition (miniseries) |first=Ken |last=Burns |network=[[PBS]] |date=October 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=A Nation of Hypocrites|series=Prohibition |series-link=Prohibition (miniseries) |first=Ken |last=Burns |network=[[PBS]] |date=October 4, 2011}}</ref> According to an April 2009 article in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]],'' Stevens "rendered an opinion on who wrote [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] plays," proclaiming himself an [[Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship|Oxfordian]]. That is, he believes the works ascribed to William Shakespeare actually were written by [[Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford]].<ref name="WSJ SAQ">{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123998633934729551|title=Justice Stevens Renders an Opinion on Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays|last=Bravin|first=Jess|author-link=Jess Bravin|date=April 18, 2009|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823170236/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123998633934729551|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, he was appointed ''Oxfordian of the Year'' by the Shakespeare Oxford Society.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://shakespeareoxfordsociety.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/oxfordian-of-the-year-award-presented-to-justice-stevens/ |title=Oxfordian of the Year award presented to Justice Stevens |work=Shakespeare Oxford Society |date=November 24, 2009 |access-date=December 23, 2009 |archive-date=July 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718110143/http://shakespeareoxfordsociety.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/oxfordian-of-the-year-award-presented-to-justice-stevens/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the article, [[Antonin Scalia]] and [[Harry Blackmun]] shared Stevens's belief.<ref name="WSJ SAQ" /> Stevens was 12 years old when he was at Wrigley Field for the [[1932 World Series]] game at which [[Babe Ruth]] hit his "[[Babe Ruth's called shot|called shot]]" home run.<ref>Tom Verducci, "Timeless," ''Sports Illustrated'', November 7, 2016, p. 36.</ref> Eighty-four years later, he attended Game 4 of the [[2016 World Series]], also at [[Wrigley Field]], wearing a red bowtie with a [[Chicago Cubs]] jacket.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/justice-john-paul-stevens-at-world-series-game/c-207542686|title=Justice Stevens takes in 3rd Cubs World Series|last=Footer|first=Alyson|date=October 29, 2016|publisher=[[Major League Baseball]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718012248/https://www.mlb.com/news/justice-john-paul-stevens-at-world-series-game/c-207542686|archive-date=July 18, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> == See also == * [[List of United States federal judges by longevity of service]] * [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]] * [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 3)]] * [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 4)]] * [[List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office]] * [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Burger Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Burger Court]] * [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Rehnquist Court]] * [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Roberts Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Roberts Court]] == References == {{Reflist|30em}} == Further reading == * {{Citation |last=Abraham |first=Henry J. |title=Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1992 |location=New York |isbn=0-19-506557-3}} * {{Citation |last1=Barnhart|first1=Bill |last2=Schlickman |first2=Gene |title=John Paul Stevens: An Independent Life |publisher=[[Northern Illinois University Press]] |year=2010 |location=DeKalb |isbn=978-0-87580-419-4}} * {{Citation |last=Cushman |first=Clare |title=The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995 |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Supreme Court Historical Society]], [[Congressional Quarterly]] Books |year=2001 |isbn=1-56802-126-7}} * {{Citation |last=Frank |first=John P. |editor-last=Friedman |editor-first=Leon |editor2-last=Israel |editor2-first=Fred L. |title=The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions |publisher=[[Chelsea House]] Publishers |year=1995 |isbn=0-7910-1377-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/justicesofunited0000unse }} * {{Citation |editor-last=Hall |editor-first=Kermit L. |title=The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1992 |location=New York |isbn=0-19-505835-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00hall }} * {{Citation |title=Illinois Justice: The Scandal of 1969 and the Rise of John Paul Stevens |first=Kenneth A. |last=Manaster |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=2001 |isbn=0-226-50243-0}} * {{Citation |last=Martin |first=Fenton S. |author2=Goehlert, Robert U. |title=The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography |publisher=Congressional Quarterly Books |year=1990 |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=0-87187-554-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/ussupremecourtbi0000mart }} * [[Jed S. Rakoff|Rakoff, Jed S.]], "The Last of His Kind" (review of John Paul Stevens, ''The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years'', Little, Brown, 549 pp.), ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'', vol. LXVI, no. 14 (September 26, 2019), pp. 20, 22, 24. John Paul Stevens, "a throwback to the postwar liberal Republican [U.S. Supreme Court] appointees", questioned the validity of "the doctrine of [[sovereign immunity]], which holds that you cannot sue any state or federal government agency, or any of its officers or employees, for any wrong they may have committed against you, unless the state or federal government consents to being sued" (p. 20); the propriety of "the increasing resistance of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] to most meaningful forms of [[gun control]]" (p. 22); and "the constitutionality of the death penalty... because of incontrovertible evidence that innocent people have been sentenced to death." (pp. 22, 24.) * Stevens, John Paul. "Keynote Address: The Bill of Rights: A Century of Progress." ''University of Chicago Law Review'' 59 (1992): 13+ [http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=occasional_papers online]. * {{Cite book|title=Five Chiefs|last=Stevens|first=John Paul|year=2011|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]|isbn=978-0-316-19980-3|url=https://archive.org/details/fivechiefssuprem00stev}} * {{Cite book|title=Six Amendments|last=Stevens|first=John Paul|year=2014|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0-316-37372-2}} * {{Cite book|title=The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years|last=Stevens|first=John Paul|year=2019|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0-316-48964-5}} * {{Citation |last=Urofsky |first=Melvin I. |title=The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary |publisher=[[Garland Publishing]] |year=1994 |location=New York |isbn=0-8153-1176-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/supremecourtjust00melv }} == External links == {{external links|date=September 2020}} {{Sister project links|b=no|c=yes|n=Category:John Paul Stevens|s=yes|q=yes|v=no|wikt=no}} * {{FJC Bio|2290|nid=1388326|name=John Paul Stevens<!-- (1920–) -->}} * {{Ballotpedia|John_Paul_Stevens}} * [http://www.ontheissues.org/John_Paul_Stevens.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[OnTheIssues]] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080528221708/http://www.law.ou.edu/faculty/facfiles/JohnPaulStevensThai.pdf John Paul Stevens], encyclopedia article by Prof. Joseph Thai * [https://ssrn.com/abstract=952012 John Paul Stevens, Human Rights Judge], by Prof. Diane Marie Amann * [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/25/politics/25memo.html "Justice Weighs Desire v. Duty (Duty Prevails)]", by [[Linda Greenhouse]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 25, 2005 * [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/03/22/100322fa_fact_toobin After Stevens], Jeffrey Toobin, ''[[The New Yorker]]'', March 22, 2010 * ''[https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/17/john-paul-stevens-legacy-227364 The Pessimistic Legacy of John Paul Stevens]'', Jeff Greenfield, [[Politico]], July 17, 2019 * [http://www.nisd.net/stevens/ Stevens High School], named after Stevens * [http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/spring2009/cover/stevens.html "A Justice for All", ''Northwestern Magazine''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100412020553/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/04/09/john_paul_stevens_slide_show/slideshow.html John Paul Stevens in pictures] – slideshow by ''[[Salon magazine]]'' * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100412135452/http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/04/09/john-paul-stevens-legacy-in-five-cases.aspx John Paul Stevens's Legacy in Five Cases] by ''[[Newsweek magazine]]'' * [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/04/supreme-court-justice-john-paul-stevens-to-retire.html Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens to Retire, PBS NewsHour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121093700/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/04/supreme-court-justice-john-paul-stevens-to-retire.html |date=January 21, 2014 }} * [http://www.democracynow.org/2010/4/13/group_justice_stevens_a_champion_of Justice Stevens a "Champion of the Constitution"] – video report by ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' * [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130198344&sc=fb&cc=fp Justice Stevens: An Open Mind On A Changed Court] – audio report by ''[[NPR]]'' * {{C-SPAN|395}} * [http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=GPO&browsePath=Supreme+Court+Nomination+Hearings%2FStevens&isCollapsed=false&leafLevelBrowse=false&isDocumentResults=true&ycord=500 Supreme Court Associate Justice Nomination Hearings on John Paul Stevens in December 1975] United States Government Publishing Office * {{Internet Archive author |search=("John Paul Stevens" OR "Stevens, John Paul")}} * [https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/2/CgdzdGV2ZW5zEgRqb2hu/ Arlington National Cemetery] {{S-start}} {{S-legal}} {{S-bef|before=[[Elmer Jacob Schnackenberg]]}} {{S-ttl|title={{Nowrap|Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]]}}|years=1970–1975}} {{S-aft|after=[[Harlington Wood Jr.]]}} |- {{S-bef|before=[[William O. Douglas]]}} {{S-ttl|title={{Nowrap|[[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]]}}|years=1975–2010}} {{S-aft|after=[[Elena Kagan]]}} {{S-end}} {{SCOTUS Justices}} {{John Paul Stevens opinions}} {{Lain in State (USA)|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, John Paul}} [[Category:1920 births]] [[Category:2019 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American judges]] [[Category:20th-century Protestants]] [[Category:21st-century American judges]] [[Category:21st-century American male writers]] [[Category:21st-century American memoirists]] [[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]] [[Category:21st-century Protestants]] [[Category:American Protestants]] [[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]] [[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] [[Category:Illinois Republicans]] [[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] [[Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]] [[Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States]] [[Category:Lawyers from Chicago]] [[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]] [[Category:Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni]] [[Category:People associated with Jenner & Block]] [[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]] [[Category:Psi Upsilon]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]] [[Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Richard Nixon]] [[Category:United States federal judges appointed by Gerald Ford]] [[Category:University of Chicago Laboratory Schools alumni]] [[Category:University of Chicago alumni]] [[Category:Writers from Chicago]] [[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page
(
help
)
:
Template:Authority control
(
edit
)
Template:Ballotpedia
(
edit
)
Template:Blockquote
(
edit
)
Template:C-SPAN
(
edit
)
Template:Cbignore
(
edit
)
Template:Citation
(
edit
)
Template:Cite book
(
edit
)
Template:Cite episode
(
edit
)
Template:Cite journal
(
edit
)
Template:Cite magazine
(
edit
)
Template:Cite news
(
edit
)
Template:Cite web
(
edit
)
Template:Dead link
(
edit
)
Template:External links
(
edit
)
Template:External media
(
edit
)
Template:FJC Bio
(
edit
)
Template:Frac
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox officeholder
(
edit
)
Template:Internet Archive author
(
edit
)
Template:John Paul Stevens opinions
(
edit
)
Template:Lain in State (USA)
(
edit
)
Template:Lang
(
edit
)
Template:Liberalism US
(
edit
)
Template:Pp-move
(
edit
)
Template:Redirect
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:S-aft
(
edit
)
Template:S-bef
(
edit
)
Template:S-end
(
edit
)
Template:S-legal
(
edit
)
Template:S-start
(
edit
)
Template:S-ttl
(
edit
)
Template:SCOTUS Justices
(
edit
)
Template:Short description
(
edit
)
Template:Sister project links
(
edit
)
Template:Use American English
(
edit
)
Template:Use mdy dates
(
edit
)
Template:Ussc
(
edit
)
Template:Webarchive
(
edit
)