Regrettably, today’s op-ed is not the only example of Stevens trying to claw back a portion of the Bill of Rights.

Stevens cast a dissent, for instance, in Texas v. Johnson (1989), the landmark case in which the Court ruled that flag-burning is protected by the First Amendment. “Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable,” declared the majority opinion of Justice William Brennan. Stevens rejected that endorsement of bedrock free speech principles.

Likewise, Stevens has said that had he not retired from the Court in 2010, he would have joined Justice Samuel Alito’s dissent in Snyder v. Phelps (2011), the case in which the Court recognized First Amendment protections for the rights of Westboro Baptist Church members to stage offensive protests outside of military funerals. “Such speech cannot be restricted simply because it is upsetting or arouses contempt,” declared the majority opinion of Chief Justice John Roberts. Stevens rejected that endorsement of free speech principles too.