Justice Stevens Papers Through 2005 To Be Made Available Starting Tomorrow

This should be interesting.

Today the Library of Congress announced that, tomorrow, it will be making available the papers of the late Justice John Paul Stevens through 2005.  The release of a Justice's papers is often pretty significant for Supreme Court nerds and historians alike, as the papers include drafts of opinions and memos among the Justices that shed light on the public opinions later released.  You need to be in DC to see the papers at the Library of Congress—they won't be posted online— but I assume particularly important documents will get out pretty quickly.  You can read the 299-page finding aid to the Stevens papers that will be available here.

Comments

[QuantumBoxCat]

The two types of records that I know are of value to researchers are votes on granting/denying cert and initial conference votes on argued cases. Both of these records can provide insight into strategic vote shifting that might occur during the different stages of decision making. Looking through the finding aid, it appears the Stevens papers contain both sets of records.

Professors in search of publications should be lined up at the Library tomorrow to try and get access to the papers and obtain permission to photograph them.

[santamonica811]

I would think there could be immense benefit to open and easily-accessible viewing by the public. (ie, having them online…or, at least, having a fairly large and wide variety of his documents online) Once the time has passed and the Library of Congress releases his papers, so that people can see them in person AND photograph/copy them, what policy reasons are there to not similarly allow people in Alaska, and California, and Singapore to see these records? It strikes me (re giving access to anyone with an internet connection) to have huge upsides, and few or no downsides.

[Sam Bankman-Fried]

Heller is up there with Dredd Scott as one of the stinkier steaming piles of shit dropped by the Supreme Court. The best opinion of the bunch is Stevens’ McDonald dissent with strong reasoning undermined by a knee jerk partisan conclusion.

[John F. Carr]

Heller will be as obscure as Miller.

[Sam Bankman-Fried]

Neither Heller nor Dredd Scott changed anything…4 million slaves before Dredd Scott and 4 million after.