Retired Justice Stevens: Gun control case, Gore v. Bush among three biggest ‘errors’ Supreme Court made during his tenure

by Emily Birnbaum - 11/26/18 9:19 AM ET

Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens in an interview with The New York Times named what he called three of the biggest “errors” the Supreme Court made during his tenure.

He named three of highest-profile cases decided during his tenure on the high court from 1975 to 2010. All three cases were ones he dissented in.

{mosads}The first case Stevens cited was the District of Columbia v. Heller, a case that recognized an individual’s Second Amendment right to own guns, calling the ruling “as bad as any in my tenure.”

“The combination of its actual practical impact by increasing the use of guns in the country and also the legal reasoning, which I thought was totally unpersuasive, persuaded me that the case is just about as bad as any in my tenure,” Stevens told the Times.

He told the newspaper that he sent around a draft of his probable dissent five weeks before Justice Antonin Scalia sent around his majority opinion in an attempt to “switch the case before it was too late.”

The effort persuaded Justice Anthony Kennedy to include a passage in the opinion that said the decision “should not be taken to cast doubt” on some gun control laws. It was ultimately decided 5-4 in favor of Heller, with Stevens dissenting.

Stevens next pointed to the ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that argued Congress should not be allowed to limit the amount corporations, unions and similar entities give to campaigns, as a major error. The 5-4 ruling allowed for corporations to pour more money into campaigns.

“Money in politics — it’s hard to believe the extent of it,” Stevens told the Times.

Finally, he listed Bush v. Gore, the 2000 court case that stopped recount efforts in Florida, which gave the presidency to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

Stevens, who is 98 years old, is promoting his new memoir, “The Making of a Justice: My First 94 Years.” It will be published in May.

The former Supreme Court justice made headlines over the summer when he appeared to offer a rebuke of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, saying he did not think Kavanaugh should be confirmed.

He declined to comment on the matter any further in the Times piece, but called Kavanaugh a “good judge.”

“I’d really rather not comment,” Stevens said. “I was criticized for expressing my opinion on that occasion, and I guess I’ll just stick with that.”

Tags book tour Brett Kavanaugh Citizens United District of Columbia v. Heller New York Times Supreme Court