What Does Assoc. Justice John Paul Stevens Consider Himself?

Great Debates
1

John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a registered Republican. And he was appointed by Republican President Gerald Ford in 1975 to fill the vacancy left by the very liberal William O. Douglas. President Ford opposed judicial activism. So at the time of Stevens appointment, he was considered solidly centrist in his views.

The reality of today. John Paul Stevens is the most liberal member of the U.S. Supreme Court. No one today would deny that fact. In fact, he is even more liberal than Democrat President Clinton’s 2 appointments.

So instead of asking what other people consider Stevens to be, conservative or liberal, let me just ask this. What does John Paul Stevens consider himself to be? Does anyone know?

:slight_smile:

2

He considers himself an old-line conservative. That is, one who believes that precedent is not to be disturbed and that the courts should defer to the legislature unless the legislative act in question is clearly beyond its powers or constitutionally prohibited.

This answer, by the way, is straight from the horse’s mouth. He spoke at my law school four or five years ago.