It's really a statement about our times, I think, that we tend to associate being a kind of eccentric loner with not being predictable in a partisan or ideological sex.

May I ask it, but it may be an awfully elementary and stupid question.

One of the ways you saw his humility the most was how when he interacted with us, he just

really conveyed to us that he felt like he could learn from us as much as we could learn from him.

Hi, and welcome to Anica Slate's podcast about the courts, the Supreme Court, and the law.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick, and I cover those things for Slate. And this week, we wanted to bring you our promised episode memorializing Justice John Paul Stevens, who served for 35 years on the Supreme Court and died on July 16th at the age of 99 after suffering a stroke.

Now, before we get to Justice Stevens, let's note that we are two weeks and change away from the start of the 2019 term, which we will preview in-depth next show with

Dean Irwin Chemerinsky. And although the court is not yet formally in session, this week

the justice has handed down a surprise seven to two decision to allow President Trump's

asylum ban to go forward. That's the ban that prohibits any migrants who have resided in

or traveled through third countries from seeking asylum in the United States. So the ban will be

allowed to stay in effect while this case is decided in the lower courts. This decision, which was not explained by the justices, lifted a lower court stay of the policy,

and Justice Sanyu Sotomayor, writing for herself and Ruth Bader Ginsburg,

issued a very stinging dissent, writing, quote,

granting a stay pending appeal should be an extraordinary act. Unfortunately,

it appears the government has treated this exceptional mechanism as a new normal.

Historically, the government has made this kind of request rarely. Now it does so reflexively.

Oh, and then she quoted friend of slate, Steve Vladig.

On today's show, as promised, we wanted to spend some time talking deeply and reflectively to people who clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens.

Stevens who retired in 2010 at the age of 90 was the second oldest, third longest serving justice ever to sit on the court. He also

somehow migrated from being a pretty reliable centrist Republican jurist at the start of his career

to the quiet leader of its liberal wing by the time he retired, something that I want to try to understand

...