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John Paul Stevens

John Paul Stevens Biography

Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

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“It is confidence in the men and women who administer the judicial system that is the true backbone of the rule of law. Time will one day heal the wound to that confidence that will be inflicted by today's decision [in Bush v. Gore]. One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is pellucidly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.”

Supreme CourtRule Of Law20072000Bush V GorePerfectly Clear
Book:The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
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“In the national debate about a serious issue, it is the expression of the minority's viewpoint that most demands the protection of the First Amendment. Whatever the better policy may be, a full and frank discussion of the costs and benefits of the attempt to prohibit the use of marijuana is far wiser than suppression of speech because it is unpopular.”

FirstsMayUseIssuesPolicySeriousExpressionCostDemandSpeechBenefitsProtectionDebateDiscussionMinoritiesMarijuanaAmendmentsFrankFreedom Of SpeechWiserFirst AmendmentViewpointsSuppressionSerious Issues
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“At bottom, the Court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.”

PeopleNeedsSelfGovernmentCommonOpinionDemocracyStrangeMajorityCourtBottomCommon SenseCorporateCorporationsRejectionFlawsImperfectFoundingDistinctiveSelf-governmentUnderminingAmerican DemocracyTheodoreMoney In PoliticsStrange Times
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“By requiring that an execution be relatively painless, we necessarily protect the inmate from enduring any punishment that is comparable to the suffering inflicted on his victim. This trend, while appropriate and required by the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, actually undermines the very premise on which public approval of the retribution rationale is based.”

SufferingProtectVictimEndurePunishmentAppropriateTrendsUnusualAmendmentsApprovalExecutionPremisesProhibitionRetributionInmatesRationalePainlessCruel And Unusual Punishment
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“Every individual who participated in the redistricting process knew that incumbency protection was a critical factor in producing the bizarre lines. ... Many of the oddest twists and turns of the Texas districts would never have been created if the Legislature had not been so intent on protecting party and incumbents.”

IfsHas BeensPoliticalTurnsPoliticsIndividualProcessLinesPartyCriticalProtectionFactorsTexasBizarreTwistsLegislatureIncumbentsTwists And TurnsRedistrictingIncumbency
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“But I really think it's a very unfortunate part of our judicial system and I would feel much, much better if more states would really consider whether they think the benefits outweigh the very serious potential injustice, because in these cases the emotions are very, very high on both sides and to have stakes as high as you do in these cases, there is a special potential for error. We cannot ignore the fact that in recent years a disturbing number of inmates on death row have been exonerated.”

IfsThinkingFeelsYearsHas BeensStatesFactsSidesNumbersEmotionCasesSpecialSeriousBenefitsErrorsInjusticeStakesUnfortunateBoth SidesDisturbingJudicialInmatesDeath RowJudicial System
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“Just as the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking are complementary components of a broader concept of individual freedom, so also the individual's freedom to choose his own creed is the counterpart of his right to refrain from accepting the creed established by the majority.”

IndividualSpeakAcceptingConceptsMajorityCreedsComponentsRefrainCounterpartsIndividual FreedomFreedom To ChooseComplementary
Book:The Bill of Rights: a century of progress
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“As a matter of constitutional tradition, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we presume that governmental regulation of the content of speech is more likely to interfere with the free exchange of ideas than to encourage it. The interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship.”

IdeasMatterGovernmentInterestExpressionSpeechBenefitsEvidenceTraditionDemocraticAbsenceContraryCensorshipRegulationInterfereTheoreticalFreedom Of ExpressionDemocratic Society
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“It might be added that corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their ‘personhood’ often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of ‘We the People’ by whom and for whom our Constitution was established.”

PeopleHumansHelpingFeelingsMightDesireBeliefHuman BeingsFictionActivityMembersConscienceConstitutionStructureCorporationsFacilitatePersonhood
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. ... I am in earnest - I will not equivocate - I will not excuse - I will not retreat a single inch - AND I WILL BE HEARD.”

ThinkingWritingSpeakLanguageWishCausesJusticeHeardSubjectsObjectsExcuseInchesHarshModerationRetreatEarnestDisobedienceSeverityUncompromising
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.”

KnowsYearsMayLawPoliticalCertainPoliticsNationsClearOne ThingIdentityJudgingElectionCertaintyWinnerPresidentialLoserGuardianRule Of LawPresidential Election
Author:John Paul Stevens
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