In nearly 35 years on the Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens went from idiosyncratic maverick to the leader of the court's liberal wing.

Those who see the Warren Court era as indispensible for the triumph of freedom and liberty may soon have another chance to confront its unintended consequences as the battle is joined over President Barack Obama's pick to replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Merrick Garland, a judge on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, long a pipeline to the Supreme Court, could be one of least controversial choices to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens, according to legal experts.

Today’s San Francisco Chronicle reports that 42 of California’s 58 county district attorneys are opposing President Obama’s nomination of Goodwin Liu to the federal appeals court in San Francisco. . . .