WASHINGTON — Internal documents related to the landmark Bush v. Gore’s Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that handed over the White House to President George W. Bush will be made public Tuesday, and the Library of Congress will release a new trove of documents from the files of the late Justice John Paul Stevens.
Stevens, who died in 2019 at age 99, was a liberal member of the conservative-majority court who dissented in the ruling that ended a recount in Florida, handing Bush a victory over his Democratic opponent Al Gore. The court was split 7-2 in criticizing the Florida Supreme Court’s implementation of a recount, but split 5-4 in finding no further recount could be conducted, with the four liberal justices dissenting.
Highlights identified by Library of Congress archivists include barely legible handwritten notes taken by Stevens at the private meeting in which the justices discussed the case. In a note, Stevens appeared to report that conservative Justice Clarence Thomas said the Florida Supreme Court «did not give us a choice» because of the way it decided the case. Thomas was part of the majority that overturned the state court ruling.
Some of Stevens’ notes refer to the now-retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, frequently the deciding vote on the nine-judge court at the time, though they are difficult to decipher. Stevens also wrote that he thought Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg might «agree» with Kennedy, who joined the majority while Ginsburg ended up dissenting with Stevens.
A Library of Congress spokesman said researchers have yet to transcribe Stevens’ notes on Bush v. Gore.
The documents made public Tuesday relate to a 21-year period in his Supreme Court tenure, from 1984 to 2005.
Other big cases Stevens was involved in during that period ranged from abortion and the death penalty to gay rights and the war on terror.
Stevens donated documents from his 35 years on the court to the Library of Congress, which is releasing them in stages. Documents from his early years on the Supreme Court, from 1975 to 1984, were released in 2020. Documents from his later career, from 2005 to 2010, It will not be made public until 2030.
Stevens had written extensively about his time on the court, including the internal deliberations about Bush v. Gore, so it’s unclear how much the newly revealed documents will add to what is already known.
Stevens was appointed in 1975 by President Gerald Ford and retired in 2010. President Barack Obama appointed liberal Justice Elena Kagan to succeed him.