Stevens To Deliver Miller Lecture
Retired Associate Justice John Paul Stevens of the Supreme Court of the United States will deliver the 53rd Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the Georgia State University Student Center House & State Senate salons.
“We are honored to have Justice Stevens giving the annual Miller Lecture,” says Steven J. Kaminshine, dean and professor of law. “He has shaped history throughout his career. We look forward to hearing about his experiences serving on the nation’s highest court.”
A moderate Republican, Justice Stevens became known later in his career as the leader of the Court’s liberal wing. He was the leading dissenting voice in Bush V. Gore, arguing the Court should have denied the stay in the Florida recount.
Justice Stevens lead the court in opposition to President Bush over the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay with the majority opinion in Hamdan V. Runsfeld in 2006, in which he held that certain military commissions had been improperly constituted.
Justice Stevens earned an A.B. from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942–45, and clerked for Associate Justice Wiley Rutledge during the Court’s 1947 term.
He began practicing law in 1949 and served as associate counsel to the Subcommittee on the Study of Monopoly Power of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1951 to 1952.
Justice Stevens was a member of the Attorney General’s National Committee to Study Antitrust Law for two years (1953-55) and served as second vice president of the Chicago Bar Association in 1970. President Richard Nixon nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, where he served from 1970 to 1975.
President Gerald Ford nominated him to the Court, and he took his seat in December 1975. Justice Stevens retired in 2010—as the third longest serving justice in history.
The Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture Series is supported by the Charles Loridans Foundation Inc. and named for Henry J. Miller, a partner in the law firm of Alston & Bird for more than 50 years. Miller's legacy continues to live in his role as mentor to generations of Atlanta's professional community.
This event is free and open to the public. Business attire and reservations are required. R.S.V.P to Vicki Dye at 404-413-9024, by Wednesday, April 2.