“At the unveiling this month of a marble bust of the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice John Paul Stevens saluted his former colleague as a model of efficiency. He noted that when the court had to issue a swift decision in 1981 related to the transfer of Iranian assets after the release of U.S. hostages in Tehran, the justices agreed that Rehnquist could get the job done. Rehnquist, who was then an associate justice, finished the decision within eight days of oral arguments, and all justices signed the opinion upholding the president’s power to agree to the deal requiring transfer of U.S-seized assets back to Iran.” (12/29/09)