Some Thoughts on Justice Stevens and Judging

Trela, Constantine L., Jr. | March 1, 2012

Justice Stevens served on the Supreme Court for thirty-five years and on the Seventh Circuit for five years before that, so summarizing his judicial career will be a multi-year, multi-volume project for legal scholars. But Justice Stevens’s underlying approach to judging may be easier to summarize. Two aspects of his approach stand out in my mind—namely, the importance he attached to the actual facts of a case and his deep respect for the law.