Stevens gives no hints about retirement plans
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ The nation’s oldest and longest serving U.S. Supreme Court justice, John Paul Stevens, did not give any hints about his retirement plans as he addressed 700 law school students Monday at the University of Florida.
Stevens, 88, in what was billed as a conversation with U.S. District Judge Jose Gonzalez Jr. of South Florida, answered questions asked by two law school professors and a third-year student.
The questions were mostly about judicial subjects, his recollections of when he was a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Wiley Rutledge in 1947 and his confirmation hearing.
He did not take questions from the audience or from reporters.
There was very little discussion about the current court and no mention of the recent election of Barack Obama, who will likely get the opportunity to appoint at least one justice when he becomes president.
Because of his age, Stevens is viewed as the justice most likely to next leave the court, but no one asked and he didn’t volunteer any hints in his hour-long question and answer session.
He steered clear of any controversy and many of the questions dealt with what he could advise law students on a variety of subjects from the value of oral arguments to footnotes in legal opinions.
When asked if the high court was involved in politics, he replied, “I don’t think of it as a political body.”
Stevens and Gonzalez both made impassioned pleas for better salaries for judges, with Gonzalez saying good people are not considering federal judicial appointments because the pay has not kept pace with inflation.
Stevens spends much of his time in South Florida and does much of his work there, commuting to Washington for court sessions. He said he does much of his work by e-mail and FedEx.
“It’s not much different than working in my office,” Stevens said.
Stevens said computers and word processors have changed the way the court works. He recalled the days when justices would write out their rulings on yellow legal pads. While he writes his own opinions, he said law clerks often add meat to his rulings.
When asked about his legacy, Stevens said, “I would like to be remembered as a good lawyer.”
Stevens, a native of Chicago, was nominated by President Gerald Ford and he took his seat on Dec. 19, 1975.
From 1970 to 1975, Stevens was a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals, before being named to the court nearly 33 years ago.
Stevens is the fourth Supreme Court Justice to visit the Gainesville campus in three years.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. judged the UF Law Moot Court Final Four in September. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg spoke and helped dedicate a classroom in honor of her close friend Chesterfield Smith in September 2006 and Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Conner spoke during dedication ceremonies for the college’s new facilities in September 2005.
Gonzalez was installed as a judge in the U.S. District Court in Southern Florida after being nominated in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter. He received both his undergraduate and law degree from the University of Florida and is a longtime friend of Stevens.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.