Academic

Souter to Retire

By Lawrence Solum

So far, he has written 156 majority opinions for the Court. There isn?t the space here ? or the time for reflection ? to catalog them in order of importance or interest. But in constitutional law, his opinion for five Justices in McCreary County v. ACLU, 545 U.S. 844 (2005), stands at the knife?s edge of stating a controlling rule of law in Establishment Clause cases that may not survive the departure of Sandra Day O?Connor. His opinion in the right of speech and association in Hurley v. Irish-American, Lesbian & Bisexual Group of Boston, 515 U.S. 557 (1995), is among the most often cited in the field. For a time, he was a member of a majority to more broadly uphold campaign finance regulation, as reflected in his opinions in FEC v. Beaumont, 539 U.S. 146 (2003), FEC v. Colorado Republican Fed. Campaign Comm., 533 U.S. 431 (2001), and Nixon v. Shrink Mo. Gov?t PAC, 528 U.S. 377 (1999). For a man with a somewhat distant relationship with technology, his opinion in MGM Studios v. Grokster, 545 U.S. 913 (2005), is surpassingly important to the future of copyright, and opinions like Verizon Comms. v. FCC, 535 U.S. 467 (2002), play a central role in telecommunications regulation. Others decided critical questions of procedure. The defense bar hopes that Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), is a landmark ruling on the obligation to set forth detailed allegations in a complaint. Beyond his opinions, the Justice?s vote has often been essential, as when he played a central role in the troika in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), that upheld the core of Roe v. Wade.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on April 30, 2009 (boomark / email).