Favorite Supreme Court justice, past or present?

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

After 2 1/2 years of law school, I can state affirmatively that the late Justice William J. Brennan is unquestionably my favorite. I must have read hundreds of his opinions by now, be they majority, concurring or dissenting, and they are suffused with liberalism and following the "spirit" of the law.

[trotsky]

1. Favorite justice AND male stripper.

The late Earl Warren.

[JohnKleeb]

2. thats so hard

I like Thurgood Marshall a lot but I like Brennan and Warren too.

[kick-ass-bob]

3. Oliver Wendell Holmes. n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Nope. Holmes authored "Bell v. Buck", a case that has not yet

been overturned. The case gives the government permission to sterilize citizens without their consent (after a charade of a hearing, of course). Folks who were targeted by the government for sterilization were poor and uneducated and nothing more onerous. Just a burden on society. Hitler was really impressed with our system of eugenics and refined it for his government.

Famous quote from Holmes: "Four generations of imbeciles is enough!"

[dean_dem]

4. Warren Burger....

mmmmm.....Burger

[sniffa]

6. damn you!

i was gonna post that.

[terrya]

5. William O. Douglas

Appointed by FDR. A dedicated, tireless liberal who served for 40 some years.

[BOHICA06]

7. David J. Brewer n/t

[fudge stripe cookays]

8. Harry Blackmun

Roe vs. Wade. 'nuff said.

And Rehnquist dissented. Surprised?
FSC

[no_hypocrisy]

9. Benjamin Cardozo, hands down.

Good reasoned decisions as well as very readable prose. And a humanitarian to boot.

John Marshall, first runner-up. He got the Supreme Court to be taken seriously as a valid third branch of the government in Marbury v. Madison.

[Moloch]

11. Thurgood Marshall

[UrbScotty]

12. John Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are up there. (nt)