WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Justice John Paul Stevens is approaching his 40th year on the federal bench -- the last 34 on the Supreme Court, deciding thousands of cases. But he said his love of the law was nurtured decades earlier by a professor's dedication and the enduring power of a political dispute that blossomed into a landmark decision known as Marbury v. Madison.



Justice John Paul Stevens swears in Vice President Joe Biden. Stevens has been on the court for 34 years.



"It was the beginning, well, of my whole legal career," Stevens told CNN in a recent exclusive interview. "You read it today and you will find some current value in it. For me, that case inspired a lasting appreciation and respect for the rule of law."



The 88-year-old justice, who sources said has no plans to step down anytime soon, is not alone in citing the 1803 high court ruling as a cornerstone of federal court authority. The landmark decision for the first time established the power of the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. It also helped codify the idea of separation of powers as a lasting hallmark of the American system of government.



The case is the subject of a new book, "The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall and the Battle for the Supreme Court" (PublicAffairs Books), which includes Stevens' analysis of the opinion's impact over the years. Written by Clifford Sloan -- a former Stevens law clerk -- and David McKean, it offers an inside look at how the federal judiciary, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, muscled itself into equal footing with the other two branches of government.



It is a struggle, Sloan noted, that continues to affect issues today, such as the president's authority in the war on terror, federal bans on late-term abortion and church-state disputes.



"There is a view of an enduring role for our courts that rises above the political pressures and cross-currents of the moment," said Sloan. "There are imperfections, there are problems, but it's been the most protective regime for rights and liberties of any country in the world. And it's really attributable to the special role of the [Supreme] Court in safeguarding our rights and liberties that Marbury established."



Immersed from the start in Marbury v. Madison



Stevens still has his law school notes from Northwestern University, which he entered in 1945. It was just months after leaving the Navy, where he served as an intelligence officer during World War II. At the time, he was thinking of becoming an English teacher, but Stevens said his brother Richard asked him to think about a law career.



"At the time I was trying to decide what to do, and it seemed like a sensible move," Stevens said, with his characteristic Midwestern modesty.



It was as a freshman that he met his early mentor, Nathaniel Nathanson, who immersed his students in Marbury v. Madison from the start.



"I knew nothing about it before I went to law school, but it was a major part of our constitutional law course," Stevens recalled. "We began with the case and we were still on it six or eight weeks later. We spent most of the first semester studying that one case, and the different issues that come out of it."



Something must have stuck, because when he graduated two years later, Stevens had the highest GPA in the history of the law school.



The justice gives credit for much of his budding success to Nathanson, a former Northwestern dean and faculty member for 47 years. "He was very brilliant, he could ask good questions and get people to think about issues," said Stevens. "He was a very decent and inspiring teacher."



From political pot-boiler to legal treatise



One thing Stevens admires about Marbury v. Madison is "there are a whole bunch of issues that are discussed in it. When is executive privilege something that the president can rely on; when should there be a remedy for a wrong?"



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Justice Stevens' 88-year-old
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