It is with sadness that I report the passing of our coblogger and friend, Stewart Baker, who died suddenly a few days ago at the age of 78. Stewart consistently conducted himself with modesty in both his writing and his speaking, yet he (alongside former District Judge Paul Cassell and former U.S. Commission on Civil Rights member Gail Heriot) stood out as the most accomplished among us. In addition to a lengthy and successful career as a lawyer at Steptoe & Johnson, he also held the role of General Counsel of the National Security Agency (1992-94) and served as Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Homeland Security (2005-09). At the outset of his career, after earning his law degree from UCLA School of Law in 1976, he clerked for First Circuit Judge Frank Coffin and subsequently for Justice John Paul Stevens.
I always valued Stewart’s incisive, knowledgeable, and thoughtful comments on a wide range of topics. His perspectives tended to be quite conservative, at times even more conservative than mine; nevertheless, even when we disagreed, I found his writings and conversations engaging, and I learned a great deal from him. We also became close friends; I would frequently seek him out when I visited Washington, and I had dinner with him just two months ago.
It is shocking to learn that he is gone. As the Russians say (“земля ему пухом”), and as the Romans said (“sit tibi terra levis”)—may the Earth rest lightly on him.
