It’s official. Justice Stevens announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court effective the end of this term. Court watchers have been speculating for a while that this would happen.
Here is one of many news reports. I’m taken by this quote from the linked MSNBC report by Senator Mitch McConnell (R Ky):
“Americans can expect Senate Republicans to make a sustained and vigorous case for judicial restraint and the fundamental importance of an evenhanded reading of the law.”
This is great news, as the Senate Republicans are now ready to reign in the activist Roberts Court. This is the activist Court that brought us Citizens United. And that’s only the most recent overreach. Senator McConnell’s talking-point quote seems oddly ironic, given that he supported Justices Alito and Roberts and the rest of the activist wing of the Court. But then I suppose one could pointedly say that it’s all about whose ox is getting gored.
Here are a few thin suggestions from a simple consumer attorney toiling in the hinterland:
1. How about we jettison the labels? The reality is that Justice Stevens was hardly liberal by comparison to many of his predecessors. Labeling him as a leader of the “liberal wing” of the Court is media hype and talking-point noise. There is no liberal wing to the Court. And those who claim to be the conservative wing are pretenders. I can imagine Justices Frankfurter and Harlan turning over in their graves.
2. Let’s not forget history: Justice Stevens is one of many Supreme Court justices who proved to be different than presumed. Justice Stevens voted differently than expected on major issues. Same was true of Justice Brennan.
3. I suppose the posturing is inevitable. Still, is it too much to ask that you deal truthfully? If Sen. McConnell truly supports judicial restraint, where was he during the Roberts confirmation hearing? Meantime, maybe he can take steps to make it up to us by truly working for a non-activist majority on the Court.
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