Christopher Eisgruber, Former Clerk, Responds to News of Justice John Paul Stevens's Retirement

PRINCETON, N.J., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It was announced today that Justice John Paul Stevens plans to retire from the Supreme Court some time this summer. On the subject of Justice Stevens's legacy, former law clerk Christopher Eisgruber cited his extraordinary career, "He will be remembered as a champion of the dignity of the individual and as a defender of the rule of law."

"He is also special for another reason," says Eisgruber, "He was appointed by a president who deliberately sought a non-partisan nominee with appeal across party lines." And, according to Eisgruber, for this reason, the history behind Justice Stevens's appointment could provide a model for President Obama's next move.

"Barack Obama has indicated a desire to appoint justices who diversify the Court and have bipartisan appeal," explains Eisgruber. "However, in today's polarized atmosphere, he will find that difficult to do."

So, what will happen, now that the "The Nine" have become "The Eight" again? Eisgruber offers some prescriptions for a smooth appointments process in his recently published book THE NEXT JUSTICE: Repairing the Supreme Court Appointments Process. He suggests Senators need to identify a nominee's judicial philosophy and to do so the confirmation process must be reimagined.

"Senators now struggle to devise questions that will trick a reluctant nominee into divulging his or her views," says Eisgruber. "They would be better off investigating nominees the same way that presidents do, on the basis of their records and reputations."

He also notes that it is important that the judicial system and the confirmation process remain transparent to the American people. "Until Americans develop a better understanding of what justices do, there is little chance that they will have a meaningful debate about who should serve on the court," says Eisgruber. "And at a time when the Court is sharply divided and the Senate is heavily polarized, that debate is urgently needed."

Christopher L. Eisgruber is provost and Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of THE NEXT JUSTICE: Repairing the Supreme Court Appointments Process, coauthor of Religious Freedom and the Constitution and the author of Constitutional Self-Government. He is a former New York University law professor and a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham.

Praise for THE NEXT JUSTICE

"The best short, one-volume, incisive account of what the Supreme Court actually does." -- Linda Greenhouse

"What do we want in a Supreme Court Justice, and how should we get it? Eisgruber, a former Supreme Court clerk, argues that the first step is to do away with the idea that the process can or should be entirely divorced from politics...Eisgruber's practical recommendations for fixing the confirmation process boil down to having senators stand up for themselves during hearings, unafraid to say no, but his larger point is that, in pursuit of justice, moderation is the paramount virtue." -- The New Yorker

"The Next Justice should be a required reading for all the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, so insightful and informative is Eisgruber's analysis of this profoundly important subject. For decades the nation has been wrestling with the question of how to avoid cyclical partisan warfare over Supreme Court appointments. This book goes a long way toward defining sensible, balanced criteria for doing so." -- Ronald Goldfarb, Washington Lawyer

Media Contact: Jessica Pellien, [email protected], 609-258-7879

SOURCE Princeton University Press