New York Times Magazine Profile of Justice John Paul Stevens

Inspiring profile of 87-year-old Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens, by Jeffrey Rosen:

Since Stevens joined the court, he has also been the only justice routinely to write the first drafts of his own opinions — the other justices have generally relied on clerks to write their first drafts and then rewritten (or at least edited) the drafts to various degrees. “Sometimes the draft is pretty short,” Stevens told me, “but at least I write enough so that I’ve had a chance to think it through.” Stevens said writing a first draft was “terribly important” because “you often don’t understand a case until you’ve tried to write it out.”

The man’s 87, but fit as a fiddle: he plays tennis three times a week and swims every day.

★ Sunday, 23 September 2007