lone dissent: Riegel v. Medtronic

Justice Ginsburg is October Term 2007’s first lone dissenter. Her dissent was 14 pages, compared to the Court’s 20-page opinion and Justice Stevens’ 3-page concurrence. Stevens’ was clearly sympathetic to Ginsburg’s “persuasive explanation” that Congress had intended to provide more more, not less, protections to consumers, but ultimately he was compelled by Medtronic v. Lohr and Cipollone v. Liggett Group to conclude that federal requirements can preempt certain causes-of-action.