Professor Amann Publishes Essay on Justice Stevens on SCOTUSblog
Professor Diane Marie Amann, a leading authority on the jurisprudence of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, has published an essay, "John Paul Stevens and the American Century," on SCOTUSblog, an online site that focuses on the Supreme Court. The essay appeared on April 20, the date of Justice Stevens' 90th birthday.
Professor Amann, who is at work on a biography of Justice Stevens, offers an overview of the Justice's life story and jurisprudence, explicating the ways in which his legal vision has impacted Court rulings with regard to capital punishment, equal protection, and national security.
"For years after John Paul Stevens arrived in Washington, Court-watchers across the ideological spectrum typecast him as a ‘wild card' whose fact-conscious approach led to ‘maverick' results," writes Professor Amann. "Those terms seldom surface anymore; accounts of his recent decision to step down at the end of this Term instead dubbed him a ‘lion,' a ‘leader of the liberal wing.' Yet neither description alone does justice to Justice Stevens, who today celebrates his ninetieth birthday. In his jurisprudence may be found not only a commitment to common law processes, but also a vision of how law must serve American ideals."
Diane Marie Amann is a Professor at the UC Davis School of Law. Issues related to post-9/11 detention, interrogation, and prosecution are a focus of her scholarship. She helped to organize the UC Davis Law Review Symposium on Justice Stevens in March 2009; her ensuing publication, "John Paul Stevens and Equally Impartial Government," is available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1584882. The Law Review's symposium edition has just been published; pdf versions of all articles may be accessed by clicking on the article title in this table of contents: UC Davis Law Review Volume 43, No. 3, February 2010.
"John Paul Stevens and the American Century"
