Justice Stevens will not be easily replaced

[Renz, Jeff]

Correct me here-Thomas was raised Catholic but now attends Protestant
church, right?  Breyer, raised Jewish but converted?  (His daughter is
an Episcopal priest.)

 

Prof. Jeffrey T. Renz

School of Law

The University of Montana

32 Campus Drive

Missoula, Montana  59812

406-243-5127

 

From: Walsh, Kevin [mailto:kwalsh at richmond.edu] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 7:27 PM
To: Hamilton02 at aol.com; SLevinson at law.utexas.edu; Renz, Jeff;
conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
Subject: RE: Justice Stevens will not be easily replaced

 

In what way is Justice Stevens's religious identity as a Protestant
"meaningful"?  (Has it ever been?)   And might there not be "meaningful
religious diversity" among the Catholics on the Court?  Among the more
religious and less religious (whether Catholic or Jewish)?

 

Kevin

 

From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu
[mailto:conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of
Hamilton02 at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 8:08 PM
To: SLevinson at law.utexas.edu; Jeff.Renz at mso.umt.edu;
conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
Subject: Re: Justice Stevens will not be easily replaced

 

In the event this has yet to be noted,f and I apologize if so, there is
also no meaningful religious diversity on the Court following Justice
Stevens' retirement -- six Catholics and two who are Jewish.  He is the
only remaining Protestant on the Court.

 

Marci

 

In a message dated 4/21/2010 8:04:37 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
SLevinson at law.utexas.edu writes:

	I also note that Breyer is the one and only member of the Court
who actually has affirmative regard for Congress, because he was Chief
Counsel (I believe) of the Senate Judiciary Committee for a while in the
1970s.  The rest of the Court, I believe, has either active disdain or
polite indifference (perhaps depending on whether they worked in the
Executive Branch and learned to view Congress as an obstreperous bunch
of clowns).
	
	In any event, I agree with Jeff that we have a stunningly
non-diverse Court if we define "diversity" in any way other than race or
gender.
	
	sandy
	
	-----Original Message-----
	From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu
[mailto:conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Renz, Jeff
	Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 6:00 PM
	To: conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
	Subject: Justice Stevens will not be easily replaced
	
	You are all to kind to the court.
	
	Stevens will not be easily replaced because he is one of the few
judges on the court with meaningful life experience.  Only Alito and
Breyer served on active duty in the armed services.  Alito on a
six-month stint for Signal Corps Officer Basic Course (go to
class--finish class--go to the officers club pool, except on the days
that your class is in the field.)  Breyer, to his credit, served 6
months as an enlisted member.
	
	Of the eight justices remaining after Stevens retires, four
attended private high schools.  All attended private universities.  All
attended private law schools.
	
	This is not the sort of heterogeneous group that provides
collective wisdom.  This is not the sort of background that necessarily
leads to a wise judge.  Of the sitting court, only Thomas and Sotomayor,
in my opinion, have the background that lends itself to the development
of wisdom to make decisions that affect millions of their fellow
citizens.  Sadly, I think Thomas's life experience has been trumped by
Thomas's bitterness.  (I also give Breyer credit because he performed
menial work while in college, despite coming from an upper-middle class
background.)
	
	Prof. Jeffrey T. Renz
	School of Law
	The University of Montana
	32 Campus Drive
	Missoula, Montana  59812
	406-243-5127

 

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