“I should say, it is unwise to feel required to memorize it when you can get a copy of it in your pocket.”

October 1st, 2011

Justice John Paul Stevens on the value of having a copy of the Presidential Oath (which is in any pocket Constitution) handy.

“I should say, it is unwise to feel required to memorize it when you can get a copy of it in your pocket,” he told Toobin, smiling. “And when I went through the vice presidential swear-in, I had the oath in my pocket and I read it. So I didn’t rely on my memory.”

He also called the Court “radical.” Blah. He should talk more about pocket constitutions and less about criticizing the Court on which he served so long.