Copyright 2004 The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune


April 8, 2004 Thursday


SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. B-3:1,7; B-4:2

LENGTH: 440 words

HEADLINE: Justice Stevens shares memories;
Former colleagues topic of USD talk

BYLINE: David E. Graham, STAFF WRITER

BODY:


Saying he would eschew "arcane propositions of law" for the evening, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens offered a San Diego audience warm remembrances of former justices.

Former Chief Justice Warren Burger, for instance, had an extensive knowledge of fine wines.

Stevens, who turns 84 this month, remembered Thurgood Marshall for his humor. "He seemed to have a joke for every occasion," he said. "Unlike most raconteurs, however, he never told us the same story twice."

Stevens spoke last night at the University of San Diego, giving the law school's annual Nathaniel L. Nathanson lecture, which he also gave 20 years ago.

In a convivial recollection of almost three decades on the high bench, he told of Potter Stewart's "rather candid comments" that he whispered to justices about about lawyers' performances as they spoke before the court, "but as I remember them, (they) practically reverberated throughout the courtroom."

Burger brought computer technology to the court that replaced a hot-lead print shop, and he "literally changed the shape of the court," Stevens said, "by ordering our carpenter to cut the bench into three sections and move each of the two ends far enough forward to enable the two junior justices to see one another."

Nominated to the bench by President Ford and taking his seat in December 1975, Stevens recalled that Burger introduced the tradition of having a lunch and toast on justices' birthdays and singing "Happy Birthday."

The talk offered a small glimpse into the court and its members, who typically avoid the limelight and offer public comment sparingly. Indeed, television news crews and newspaper photographers were barred from recording the event. Only print media reporters were allowed into the auditorium. University officials, however, were allowed to videotape the speech.

Stevens limited his reflections to colleagues who have left the court, except for noting that Justice Clarence Thomas has "significantly improved the quality of our singing" of Happy Birthday.

He recalled how Harry Blackmun, like himself, "had Illinois roots and shared the perennial frustration of being ardent Cub fans."

Stevens remembered how he was going to pass on a formal Washington dinner with the media shortly after joining the court because he did not have the required white tie and tails. He reconsidered after Justice Bill Brennan urged him to go, lending Stevens his set of tails.

"I have been eternally grateful for a generous act that made it possible for me to spend an evening with the still-gorgeous and charming Ginger Rogers as my dinner partner."

David Graham: (619) 542-4575; mailto:david.graham@uniontrib.com