Source: http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/45352.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 02:02:37+00:00

Document:
In 2010, Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement from the U. S. Supreme Court after 35 years of service, the third-longest tenure in the history of the Court. In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the cause of public education, the National Education Association offers this tribute to Justice Stevens.
In virtually every case involving the rights of public employees, Justice Stevens sided with employees. In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, for example, he provided the fifth and deciding vote to uphold the right of a school employee to sue a school district for punishing him in retaliation for complaining about the unequal treatment of female athletes.
Justice Stevens authored oneof the seminal decisions involving the free speech rights of public workers. In Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, the Court struck down political patronage, holding that non-policy making public employees can’t be fired, demoted, or refused employment because they belong to the “wrong” political party. He also wrote the majority opinion in U.S. v. National Treasury Employees Union, overturning a ban on federal employees accepting honoraria for speaking and writing “off-the-clock.” And he penned the Court’s opinion in Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi, which expanded the rights of public employees to bring age discrimination claims against their employer under federal law.
Justice Stevens always recognized the importance and value of public education and racial equality. He provided the fifth vote in what many believe to be one of the High Court’s most important education rulings, Plyler v. Doe. In that case, the Court struck down a Texas law denying a public education to the children of undocumented immigrants.
In matters relating to gay rights and individual liberty, time has proven Justice Steven to be on the right side of history.
Just a few months before he retired, the Court handed down its devastating decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission allowing unlimited corporate expenditures on elections. When the decision was announced, Justice Stevens took the highly unusual step of reading for 20 minutes from his 90-page dissent. Declaring “I emphatically dissent,” he described the majority opinion as “profoundly misguided,” “backwards,” “incorrect,” and just plain “nonsense.” He wrote, “The Court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation. The path it has taken to reach its outcome will, I fear, do damage to this institution.” And he closed with this observation: “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.” Hopefully, Justice Stevens’ dissent in Citizens United will ultimately be adopted by a majority of the Court as in the Bowers case.
Justice Stevens is an individual of unfailing politeness and good manners who will be fondly remembered for his habit of asking, “May I ask a question?” before questioning counsel at oral argument. With his retirement from the Court, NEA and the United States have lost a champion of freedom and a stalwart friend of education. He stung the conscience of America, transformed our social fabric, and elevated our national character. Over the past 35 years, we have learned this simple truth about Justice John Paul Stevens: he embodies what it means to serve our country with honor, decency, and respect for the rule of law. He will be sorely missed.

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