Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies, Stevens a Republican who championed affirmative action, abortion, gay rights, and the separation of church and state in public and higher education, among other public policy matters....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog

Former United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief. Coleman is an experienced Black political reporter who covered the 2008 presidential election for the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio and the presidential elections in 2012 and 2016 at Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com. As to the Obama interview  CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, CLEVELAND, Ohio-Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the second oldest and longest serving  justice  in the court's history when he retired in 2010 at 90-years-old, died Tuesday at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida  of complications from a stroke.

He was 99 and at his death he was the third longest serving U.S. Supreme Court justice in the court's history.

Initially considered a moderate when he was nominated to the nation's highest court in 1975 in the wake of  the Watergate scandal by then president Gerald Ford, a Republican, he ultimately became an anchor and a voice for the country's most vulnerable, retiring in 2010 after 35 years as an associate justice.

A Chicago native, Stevens was destined to become one of the most vigorous opponents of affirmative action when he won confirmation to the bench but ultimately became one of the strongest defenders of such public policy measure, his position on the issue a by-product, he has said, of his expressed deference to "case law precedence."

While a United States Supreme Court Justice he played a pivotal role on such causes as gay rights, abortion rights,  the separation of church and state in public and higher education, property interests, and  race matters, ultimately gaining a reputation as a liberal jurist.

This in spite of being a low-key Republican

His majority opinions in landmark cases include Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Apprendi v. New Jersey, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Kelo v. City of New London, and Massachusetts v. EPA. Stevens is also known for his dissents in Texas v. Johnson, Bush v. Gore, D.C. v. Heller, and Citizens United v. FEC.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS