OT: Former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens dies at the age of 99
One of the longest serving members of the Court, Steven was a critical part of the some of the biggest Supreme Court decisions of the the last half century.
His clashes with the late Justice Antonin Scalia were the stuff of legal legend, and I'm sure the two will be anxious to reinstate their rivalry.
Speaking at Washington University School of Law in 2016, Stevens was asked about his legacy. His reply: "I did the best I could."
Godspeed.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/16/john-paul-stevens-died-justice-obituary-121194
So you’ve been a member here for over five years. You certainly are aware of the no politics rule. I really don’t understand why people feel the need to start shit throwing fights here over and over.
Post looks good to me...I liked the quote at the end. Passing of public servants is news not sure what you're seeing here.
Agree. There seems to be no political bias for Politico, the article on Stevens nor by Stevens himself.
Fair enough UMProud. I’ll gladly stand corrected if I’m wrong. ?
it'll be fine as long as folks restrict the discussion to abortion, climate change, and immigration.....
seriously though, this is one of many people that we should be able to honor a guy (or gal) and his legacy.
Why? I'm too lazy to care about this dude, but what if I wanted to honor a public servant like Strom Thurmond? Is that cool?
You could have posted a thread about Strom Thurmond passing. Was he as important as a Supreme Court Justice?
Noted ‘States Rights’ party presidential candidate Strom Thurmond passed away 5 years before you became a member. Other than longevity, I’m not sure what part of his legacy would gain positive traction on this board.
you should never be too lazy to care about history
C'mon. Shit fights are fun and good for page views (and $, which supports the blog).
Whatever anyone thinks of his positions over the years, Stevens was definitely not a meathead. He was an intellectual with elevated taste. I'd be happy to stock the court with more of those.
I kinda think political threads are fun, too. This is the only forum I would even think of engaging people in a political fight, because this board has the superb ability to compartmentalize that kind of yakety-yak to just a certain post. Two posts later, the exact same people are talking about recruiting or speed in space with no tension whatsoever. What happens in political threads stays in political threads. That said, this isn't one.
Justice Stevens had a reputation for unflappable politeness to everyone else on the bench and all parties appearing before the court, even as he was dismantling their legal arguments. He was a major figure in the jurisprudence of this country for three decades, esp. on national security issues and the power of the executive. Republican appointee who was an independent thinker and not easily categorized as a "red" or "blue" judge. I agree we could use more like him.
I see no politics here except for what you inserted.
Politics are allowed in OT season especially since they updated the site last summer and the board usage fell off a cliff.
And since the owner of the site started posting a bunch of political posts on the front page.
M Go Cue. Relax. I think this thread is useless, but realize it isn’t political. It is just an announcement of his death.
Yeah, maybe I should. That’s what I get for getting on here at 2 am (one month old baby). I’ve just seen over the years that there are certain shit throwers here (on both sides) that just can’t wait for the slightest opening to sling their shit. I think I’ll just exit and wait for the next gravy thread.
?♂️
As politicized as the Supreme Court has become, it is almost impossible to talk about an individual Justice without his/her beliefs somehow entering the conversation even when the implication of different perspectives,i.e. Scalia's originalism, was presented harmlessly such as in the OP.
Personally, I wish Mgoblog had a non-sports section to discuss topics other than sports because our membership is comprised of some very bright people with diverse backgrounds. One can learn from a different point of view, particularly when it is intelligently presented and done without name calling.
Keith Jackson voted for Ross Perot....
My goodness Pardner, just listen to that giant suckin' sound comin' from down Mexico way. Whoooooooooa Nellie!
Though the past couple of years have seen the line erode rapidly, the judiciary is supposed to be the apolitical branch, so this is technically a non-political thread.
Also, he was nominated to the court by the only Michigan alum to become POTUS.
You'e not totally wrong MGoCue. There was a similar thread on the board when Scalia passed which was eventually locked when it started to go off the rails.
I debated whether to post anything, but figured the best I could do was to keep the OP clean and let folks decide whether they felt like behaving or not.
Most people probably don't think about retired Supreme Court Justices a whole lot, but if you are a lawyer or ever been to law school, Stevens was a huge part of your life whether you are conversative, liberal, Democrat, Republican or otherwise. Same goes for Scalia, et al.
He definitely made a huge impression on me as a law student a little over a decade ago, and I figured there's probably a few other MGoLawyers that felt the same way.
It’s an overwhelming responsibility they vow to and they all seem get beyond the partisanship when they take they oath. God bless him for his service to us.
The board has had a long history of making posts about the death of important political figures, including Scalia and GHWB (41). It's substantive news that is of interest to the whole country.
At least we still have John Paul Jones.
Seeing that he’s been dead for over 200 years... not sure that we do..
I swear you're wrong, I keep hearing rumors of a possible Led Zeppelin reunion concert with Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead on those concert plans!!!
And Ringo
Good man and good Justice by all accounts. Conservative Justice awarded the Preseidential Medal of Freedom by a Liberal Democrat President.... the “good old days.”
A great public servant. RIP.
Sports angle: he witnessed Babe Ruth’s called shot home run in the 1932 World Series.
“In addition to his nearly 35 years spent on the Supreme Court bench from 1975-2010, the Chicago native was a life-long fan of his hometown Cubs. As a boy he attended games in the 1929 and 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field. In the latter season, Stevens claims to have seen one of the most legendary moments in baseball history: Babe Ruth calling his shot.”
Selfie pics or it didn't happen.....
MaizeinDC--
Providing a sports angle to this confetti tree is a good catch!....
Whatever one thinks of Stevens’ jurisprudence, the idea that 90 year olds should be deciding critical constitutional issues has always troubled me. (Stevens finally retired at 90.) Even sharp 90 year olds are not as sharp as they were at even 80. Justices are appointed for life, but it would be nice to see more of them surrender their grip on power once they hit, oh, I don’t know, maybe 80 years old? The power that comes with having one vote out of nine is too intoxicating, I suppose.
But Stevens at 90 is sharper than Clarence Thomas ever was
enjoy 40 more years of the latter then
His appointment to the court is probably the best judicial move by Richard M. Nixon.
He was appointed by Gerald Ford.
You're both right. He was appointed to the federal bench by Nixon and to the Supreme Court by Ford.
I find that to be an unsatisfying result.
If it helps, I bow down to your superior knowledge.
Yes.
He did a great job defending free speech when he killed the CDA back in the 90s. And I respect his admission that he made a significant mistake in the Kelo ruling.
A member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, as am I.
A principled jurist who acquitted himself with dignity and honor as befits his office.
RIP Justice Stevens and thank you for your contributions to American jurisprudence.
I don't see this as a political OT. At first I thought the headline said that John Paul Jones of Lead Zeppelin had passed away.
Edit:
Eh, I concede he was nominated by a Michigan grad.
Also 80 should be an age of graceful departures for supreme Court justices. Their clerks start to take a larger than life role after that, and that's entirely outside what our system intends. People living to 90 in 1776 was quite the rarity.