In his 35 years of service to the high court, Justice Stevens left his mark on some of the most significant decisions affecting the American experience. Stevens became known as a liberal leader of the court for his ability to pull moderates to his side on close decisions. So, who could step into such big shoes? Two Chicagoans and a former dean of Harvard Law School are on the short list.

To learn more about their chances and how any viable candidate might affect the make-up of the court and the issues they rule over we turn to Geoffrey Stone, a law professor at the University of Chicago and a former colleague of President Obama.

Thanks to the Oyez  Project  for the tape we used in the introduction to this conversation.