The case is notable for the justices composing the 5-4 majority, which included the liberal justices (John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer) along with the conservative Scalia, who authored the opinion.
Joanna Freda Hare (b. 27 July 1942), married 1967 to United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer
As the Court's leading purposivist Justice Stephen Breyer considers determining and interpreting the purpose of a statute paramount.
Stephen King | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Fry | Stephen Harper | Stephen Hawking | Stephen Stills | Stephen | Stephen Frears | Stephen Crane | Stephen Foster | St. Stephen's College, Delhi | Stephen Hendry | Stephen Gardiner | Stephen Rea | Stephen Jay Gould | Stephen F. Austin | Stephen Colbert | Stephen Breyer | Stephen Thomas Erlewine | Stephen Merchant | Stephen Chow | Marcus Stephen | Stephen Spender | Stephen Lewis | Stephen Kovacevich | James Fitzjames Stephen | St. Stephen | Stephen Hopkins | Stephen Bishop | St. Stephen's College |
Past recipients include U.S. Supreme Court justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harry Blackmun, Sandra Day O’Connor, and John Paul Stevens; former U.S. attorney general Janet Reno; U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd; Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Palmore; civil rights lawyer Morris Dees; lawyer and professor Samuel Dash; and Howard Baker.
When Supreme Court Associate Justice Byron White retired in 1993, Merritt was considered a potential nominee, along with Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Stephen Breyer of the First Circuit, who was eventually nominated by President Bill Clinton and subsequently joined the Court.
Through his sister, Joanna Freda Hare, he is a brother-in-law of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
In June 1989, Harvard Law Review published tributes to Professor Bator by Professor David L. Shapiro, Professor Charles Fried and then-judge Stephen Breyer.