REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Justice Stevens reveals his thoughts on 'radical' court

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Monday, October 3, 2011 04:08
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 377
PAGE 1 of 1

Monday, October 3, 2011 4:08 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


"Radical" has often been used as meaning "progressive" (both intended as pejoratives) when it comes to courts. But looking at the court then and now, Justice Stevens has another definition of it.
Quote:

Neither jet-lagged nor agitated, the justice is the model of cordiality and candor, wasting little time making his views known. When asked if the conservative-majority court is too radical, Stevens said, "Well I think some of the decisions are."

He is reminded of a dissent in an affirmative action case not long before his retirement last year, where he wrote, "No member of the court that I joined in 1975 would have agreed with today's decision." It was striking for him to conclude the court has changed that much. "I've thought about that, and perhaps people question the accuracy, but I'm really persuaded that's right, and I think it is," Stevens reflected.

"That suggests that you think the court has moved radically in recent years?" asked Toobin. "Well it has moved dramatically, that's right, and I guess a word like radical may well apply."

Stevens: Country moved to the right

Stevens' 35 years on the high court made him a multi-layered transitional figure-- the last of his World War II generation to serve on that bench, a longtime leader of the progressive minority on the court, and a justice whose views were criticized for betraying his Midwestern Republican roots.

Nominated to the federal appeals court in 1970 by President Richard Nixon and five years later to the high court by President Gerald Ford, Stevens says his views did not change over the years, but the court and the country did, moving to the right. The Republican Party of four decades ago, he admits, is no longer evident. (Lots more at http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/30/us/scotus-preview-stevens/index.html?hpt
=hp_bn3

He discusses his changed feelings on the death penalty, among other things.

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

YOUR OPTIONS

NEW POSTS TODAY

USERPOST DATE

OTHER TOPICS

DISCUSSIONS
In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2)
Wed, July 23, 2025 23:32 - 5691 posts
Moscow Burns / Coup In Progress
Wed, July 23, 2025 22:53 - 100 posts
Midterms 2026
Wed, July 23, 2025 22:45 - 179 posts
Trump Lied More Than 30,000 Times During His Presidency. No Wonder We’re Exhausted.
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:30 - 14 posts
Do you feel like the winds of change are blowing today too?
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:13 - 2612 posts
The Hunter Biden interview shows Democrats are party only for elites
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:08 - 3 posts
QAnons' representatives here
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:03 - 807 posts
TRUMP???????????????
Wed, July 23, 2025 19:57 - 20 posts
Trump Is Destroying Everything He Touches
Wed, July 23, 2025 17:58 - 479 posts
Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
Wed, July 23, 2025 15:21 - 8655 posts
Boy sex ring/ties to Bush administration& Gunderson report Pt 2
Wed, July 23, 2025 15:04 - 41 posts
Boeing 737 Max
Wed, July 23, 2025 14:53 - 218 posts

FFF.NET SOCIAL