Jones v. Clinton - Thirteen Years Later

As you know, I love John Paul Stevens and recently attended his homecoming dinner, hosted by the CBA at the beautiful Stevens Hotel, where he grew up.

Stevens authored the unanimous opinion in Clinton v. Jones. Clinton's lawyers in that case had argued that if Paula Jones (pictured being punched in the face by Tonya Harding) were allowed to proceed with her civil sexual harassment claim against Bill Clinton, then future presidents might be subject to vexatious civil litigation that would distract them from their presidencies. Stevens rejected this argument, writing that "in the more than 200 year history of the Republic, only three sitting Presidents have been subjected to suits for their private actions. . . . If the past is any indicator, it seems unlikely that a deluge of such litigation will ever engulf the Presidency. As for the case at hand, if properly managed by the District Court, it appears to us highly unlikely to occupy any substantial amount of petitioner's time."

I think the last thirteen years show that this is probably a correct assessment. As much as the left hated George W. Bush, to the best of my knowledge, he was never subjected to any vexatious civil litigation. And as much as the right hates Barack Hussein Obama, I'm not aware of any lawsuits looming that threaten to derail his presidency. The fact of the matter is that Bill Clinton had a background that, for a president, was pretty unique and pretty checkered.