Undoubtedly, one of the most talked about topics in the world of politics at this point in time is the retirement of Justice Stevens.
Often times, the general public has very little knowledge concerning the Supreme Court, and thus do not know who is exactly making these judgements that effect our nation. Justice Stevens is one of the longest serving supreme court justice’s in history, having served since 1975, when President Ford placed him on the bench. Since that time, Justice Stevens has made many landmark decisions, often writing opinions for these cases. Some of the important ones decided during his time on the bench:
Hamdan v. Rumsfield: In this decision, Justice Stevens wrote the decision which struck down the military commissions that were set up by the Bush Administration to try the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, as they violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions
Atkins v. Virginia: Justice Stevens wrote the the landmark decision which stated that it is unconstitutional the put mentally retarded criminals to death, due to the cruel and unusual punishment clause in the Eighth Amendment
Bush v. Gore: In this case, Justice Stevens did not write an opinion, but rather a very strong dissent. In his dissent, he chastised the majority of the Court for undermining the state judges’ abilities to make impartial decisions about the recount in Florida.
Most recently, Justice Stevens read his 90-page dissent in Citizens United v. FEC just this year, showing his strong disapproval for the opinion reached by the majority.
All in all, Justice Stevens has had a remarkable period on the bench, and it will be incredibly sad to see him leave the bench.
Katastrophic Konfessionals 