DISSENTING OPINION IN BUSH V. GORE, SIGNED BY JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS

(SUPREME COURT) STEVENS, John Paul. Opinion signed (Bush v. Gore). No place, circa 2000. Eight leaves (measuring 8-1/2 by 11 inches). Housed in a custom blue cloth portfolio. $2000.

Dissenting opinion by Justice Stevens in the controversial case of Bush v. Gore, signed on page one by Justice John Paul Stevens, housed in a custom portfolio.

Heard in the Supreme Court on December 11, 2000 and decided on December 12 in a 7-2 per curiam opinion and a 5-4 vote, Bush v. Gore was held in favor of the petitioner, then-governor George Bush. Bush v. Gore resulted from a challenge by then-Governor Bush to the statewide recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court, which stemmed from the infamous "hanging chad" controversy. Arguing that the recount violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses, Bush asked the Supreme Court to reverse the decision and end the recount. The Court held for the petitioners and found the recount unconstitutional based on the lack of sufficient safeguards to ensure a just result and the impossibility of creating safeguards within the timeframe imposed by Florida's December 12th deadline for the selection of electors. By halting the recount and holding for President Bush, the conservative majority of the Court determined the outcome of the election. There were four dissenting opinions: those of Justice Stevens, Justice Breyer, Justice Ginsburg, and Justice Souter. As represented here, Justice Stevens' dissent, which Ginsburg and Breyer joined in, argued that the Supreme Court should not have ruled in a case involving the interpretation of state laws. With Justice Stevens' signature at the top of the first page, this is a typescript copy of his dissenting opinion in the case of Bush v. Gore (531 U.S. 98 2000).

A fine signed copy.