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First, as you have likely heard, Justice John Paul Stevens announced today that he will retire at the end of the Court's current term.  The announcement comes just 11 days short of the Justice's 90th birthday, and, not that it matters but it does seem a bit odd, means that the Court would no longer have any Protestant members at all unless one should be appointed to replace him.  Only three justices in history have served longer than Justice Stevens has, and if you know who they are without looking it up, you probably need to get out more.

Not to say that Justice Stevens has been around a long time, but he does have fond personal memories of watching Babe Ruth play.

Second, the legal profession also lost Joseph M. Velardo, although in a very different way.  Police in Port St. Lucie, Florida, said that Velardo stole a number of items from a local Staples store, and when he was arrested he told them that he stole the merchandise because "he wanted a felony on his record so he would not be allowed to go to law school."

I guess that's one way to avoid that terrible fate.

Sadly for that plan, though, police said that the stolen items added up to just $276.88, short of the $300 required to make it a felony.  But at least he can still go to law school in order to learn how to look up a statute.

And yes, I do think that Justice Stevens and Joseph Velardo are at opposite ends of the intellectual spectrum.

Link: New York Times

Link: West Palm Beach News

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