Justice John Paul Stevens

John Paul Stevens was appointed as associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Gerald Ford in 1975. Although nominally a Republican, Stevens brought with him a reputation as a political moderate. On the Court, he demonstrated an independent streak, tending to be a pragmatic jurist who reached decisions on narrow factual and legal grounds rather than advocating a particular judicial philosophy. However, in recent years, as the Court has moved more to the right, Justice Stevens has frequently voted as a liberal in cases affecting education law.

On the Bench

In 1970, on the recommendation of a college friend, U.S. Senator Charles Percy, Stevens was appointed by President Richard Nixon for a seat on the Seventh Circuit. During his tenure as an appellate court judge, Stevens authored over 200 opinions, many of which were quite lengthy and accompanied by detailed footnotes. His early writings provided a clue to his approach to judicial decision making, demonstrating a preference for narrowly tailored decisions rather than grand pronouncements on constitutional law.

In 1975, following the resignation of Justice William O. Douglas from the Supreme Court, Judge Stevens was on the short list of possible replacements. Edward Levi, U.S. attorney general and former dean of the University of Chicago Law School, was a strong supporter of Stevens and highly recommended him to President Gerald Ford. The American Bar Association gave Stevens its highest rating. In the aftermath of Watergate, President Ford nominated Stevens as a respected judge with moderate Republican leanings whose appointment would not create partisan political controversy. Judge Stevens's nomination was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate.

Supreme Court Record

Over the years, Justice Stevens established a record of what his supporters consider to be independence and his critics view as inconsistency. Cases involving race relations and affirmative action are illustrative. In City of Richmond v. /. A. Croson Co. (1989), Stevens concurred in the judgment of the Court striking down a 30% minority set-aside program in the local construction industry. However, he filed a dissenting opinion in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena (1995), where he voted to uphold a minority preference program in federal construction projects. Justice Stevens argued that adherence to precedent and principles of federalism justified distinguishing federal set-aside programs, which were permissible, and state set-aside mandates, which were not.

Freedom of Expression

In cases involving First Amendment freedom of expression, Stevens typically has voted more out of ...