Justice Harry Blackmun and Chief Justice Warren Burger, old friends and fellow Minnesotans, were referred to as the Minnesota Twins early in Blackmun's career on the bench because of Blackmun's tendency to vote with the Chief Justice on most decisions. Although Blackmun was a conservative when Nixon first nominated him to the court, he become more liberal over the years, so the nickname no longer applied. By the time Justice Blackmun retired, he was considered the most liberal member of the Court.
Justice Blackmun used to refer to himself as "Ol' No. 3," because he was the third justice Nixon nominated to replace Justice Abe Fortas, who resigned under pressure. The first two nominees, Clement Haynsworth, Jr. and G. Harrold Carsswell, were rejected by the Senate for their poor judicial records on civil rights issues. Blackmun won the unanimous support of the Senate.
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