Breaking: Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the independent-minded jurist whose bright bow ties and courteous manner symbolized an old-fashioned style of integrity, died Tuesday. He was 99.
Though he joined the court as a centrist Republican, he emerged in his later years as the leading voice of its liberal bloc.
He was remarkably vigorous through his 80s and upon his retirement at age 90, he was the second oldest justice to serve on the high court, surpassed only by the legendary Oliver Wendell Holmes. Stevens described himself in an interview as “pretty darn conservative.” But on the major issues that divided the court—including race, abortion, religion, gay rights, gun rights, the death penalty and the environment—Stevens leaned to the liberal side.
George W. Bush was also on the losing end of several opinions written by Stevens. He led a narrow majority that rejected Bush’s claim that he had the unilateral power to hold and try alleged “enemy combatants” in the war on terror. Stevens said the prisoners had a right to challenge their detention before judges.
Stevens was also a strong defender of the laws that limited the influence of “big money” in politics. “Money is not speech,” he once wrote, but property that can be regulated. He dissented in his last term from a 5-4 decision that held corporations had a free-speech right to spend unlimited sums on election races.
He also may been have the first justice who was a telecommuter. When the court was in recess during the winters—including for long weekends—Stevens flew to Florida. He and his wife had a condominium in Ft. Lauderdale, and he blended well with the retirees, playing tennis and golf regularly. But Stevens also spent part of each day drafting and editing opinions and maintaining a steady computer correspondence with his clerks and the court.
By 1995, Stevens was second in seniority to conservative Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. In the court’s deliberations, Stevens played the role of leader of the shrinking liberal bloc. When Rehnquist moved to limit the enforcement of the federal civil rights laws and the desegregation of the schools, Stevens led the dissenters.
A few months later, Stevens told a lawyers group he regretted the outcome and said the city’s decision was “unwise.” However, he said the law and Constitution permitted cities to condemn land for “economic development,” so long as the owners were fully compensated. Young John was 7 when the Stevens Hotel opened for business. With 28 floors and 3,000 rooms, it was hailed as world’s largest hotel. Stevens met aviation pioneers Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart when they visited the hotel.
A year later, however, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously reversed the conviction and ruled the transfer of funds between the two family-owned companies did not amount to embezzlement.
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