Book Reviews

fected litigant who appeared before him included the following statistics: 1 in exercised this sick sort of revenge. For his 3 Native women will be raped in her part, Joe feels awkward around his mother lifetime (and that figure is certainly because of the nature of the attack, yet at higher as Native women often do not the same time, remains a kid still in need of report rape); 86 percent of rapes and a mother. Both father and son redirect their sexual assaults upon Native women emotions and embark upon an investigation are perpetrated by non-Native men; to find the perpetrator. few are prosecuted. Erdrich’s portrayal of the psyche of an adolescent boy—with all his insecurities Louise Erdrich deserves the many and fantasies—is sensitive and compelling. awards she has received for her many nov- So too are her portrayals of the menagerie els. In particular, she is to be commended for of characters who surround Joe. Indeed, bringing to mainstream attention the plight no character and no relationship in The of contemporary Native Americans. The Round House is simple. The characters Round House proves that richly detailed include the ex-Marine turned reservation fiction can effectively teach about culture, priest, Father Travis; Joe’s aunt Sonja, the history, and politics.  former stripper who mothers him but also remains the object of his teenage fantasies; Elizabeth Kelley is a criminal defense law- The Round House and Linda, the white woman abandoned by yer based in Spokane, Wash. She has a spe- her birth family because they thought she cial commitment to representing individu- By Louise Erdrich was “retarded” and who was raised by a als with mental illness and developmental HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2012. 336 reservation family. or intellectual disabilities who are accused pages, $27.99. Lawyers should be particularly interest- of crimes. She has served two terms on the ed in The Round House because it grapples board of the National Association of Crimi- Reviewed by Elizabeth Kelley with a couple of important areas of Indian nal Defense Lawyers, has served as the chair Law. The first is the Indian Child Welfare of the Mental Health and Corrections Com- When I saw that Amazon.com adver- Act. This statute was passed by Congress in mittees, and is currently the chair of the tised that The Round House by Louise 1978 in order to preserve Native American Membership Committee. She hosts two radio Erdrich was “[l]ikely to be dubbed the culture. Specifically, it was enacted in shows, Celebrity Court and Celebrity Court: Native American To Kill a Mockingbird,” response to the high number of American Author Chats. I knew I had to read it. Although The Indian children who were taken away from Round House’s plot is not as accessible their families by public and private agencies. and heartwarming as Harper Lee’s classic, In The Round House, we meet characters Justice and Legal Change its characters are every bit as complex, and who were in fact taken off a reservation and on the Shores of Lake its presentation of the underlying social and raised in state institutions. Erie: A History of the economic issues just as vivid. With good Another issue that The Round House United States District Court for the Northern reason, The Round House spent weeks on addresses—and indeed, this lies at the heart District of Ohio the New York Times’ bestseller list and won of the book—is sexual assaults on reser- the National Book Award for fiction in 2012. vations, and in particular, the race of the Edited By Paul finkelman and The Round House is the story of Joe perpetrators. I will not divulge the results roberta sue alexander Coutts, a 13-year-old boy raised on a reser- of Joe’s and his father’s investigation, or Ohio University Press, Athens, OH, 2012. 374 pages, vation in North Dakota during the 1980s. His how justice is finally administered. How all $49.95. father is a tribal judge. The book opens with that unfolds is something you should experi- a brutal attack on Joe’s mother. Like many ence for yourself. In an afterword, however, Reviewed by Christopher C. Faille survivors of sexual assault, she retreats into Erdrich writes: silence and solitude while her husband and “No State shall … deny to any person son feel powerless to bring back the woman This book is set in 1988, but the within its jurisdiction the equal protec- they once knew. tangle of laws that hinder prosecution tion of the laws.” The state action require- Judge Coutts fumes that someone would of rape cases on many reservations ment of the Equal Protection Clause of the violate his wife in this way, but he also is still exists. “Maze of Injustice,” a 2009 Fourteenth Amendment has been central haunted by the possibility that some disaf- report by Amnesty International, to the debates over the significance of

84 • The Federal Lawyer • June 2013 Brown v. Board of Education (1954), opening paragraphs of this review, I will ing. One of the black student plaintiffs, which demanded the end of state-enforced focus on the chapter on racial discrimina- Yvonne Flonnoy, testified that her third- racial segregation in education, and Brown tion. A fuller discussion of this chapter may grade classmates in this situation were (in v. Board of Education (1955), which well whet the reader’s appetite for the rest Saphire’s paraphrase) “placed in one row demanded that it occur “with all deliberate of the book. at the back of classroom … not allowed to speed.” The chapter in question is “Bringing participate in any activities at the receiv- By the early 1970s, legal and political Brown to Cleveland,” by Richard B. Saphire, ing school; they were not permitted to take debates over the implementation of Brown of the University of Dayton School of Law. It gym, nor were they allowed to eat lunch” had come to center on court-ordered bus- is a fine and illuminating discussion about with the students of the receiving school. ing, which looks at least to many of its foes how the U.S. District Court for the Northern Judge Battisti described such behavior as inadequately anchored by any state action. District of Ohio responded to the Supreme an “outright theft of those students’ rights to The courts have (runs the common com- Court’s rulings in the two Brown decisions, even an equal educational experience.” He plaint) moved from desegregation to inte- and how this court responded as well to the said that, although the defendants’ witness- gration, and in pursuit of the latter cause demands of the appellate court above it, es had sought to give race-neutral explana- they are trying to undo the consequences of when it had to address the issue of racial tions for their policies during the trial, their the racial segregation of neighborhoods that segregation in the schools of the city of efforts to do so were “desperate.” comes about from private action, such as Cleveland. His decision on the question of liabil- the buying and selling of homes, the renting Much of the chapter is devoted to a dis- ity was straightforward. He found that of apartments, and so forth. cussion of Reed v. Rhodes, as the litigation Cleveland had engaged in intentional dis- filed in 1973 was known by the time it came crimination against black children. Due to Reed v. Rhodes to trial in 1975. Chief Judge Frank Battisti intervening maneuvers by the defendants, Now we have Justice and Legal Change issued a ruling on Aug. 31, 1976, that, as he didn’t order specific remedies until a year on the Shores of Lake Erie, a collection of Saphire tells us, “was to fill over ninety and a half later, in February 1978. essays on prominent cases decided by the pages in the federal reporter.” The first- U.S. District Court for the Northern District named plaintiff, Robert Anthony Reed, was A Doozy of a Plan of Ohio. The book contains several fine a student, and the first-named defendant, His remedial plan was a doozy. He recon- contributions, some of which would warrant James A. Rhodes, was the governor of the stituted himself as a robe-wearing one-man being expanded into books of their own. state at the time of the trial. school board. He ordered, for example, that Melvin Urofsky, for example, discusses, with Cleveland would have to create a “depart- both detail and verve, the trial of Eugene A Judge in the Trenches ment of desegregation implementation,” V. Debs for speaking in opposition to the Judge Battisti’s decision, as summarized which was to report to the court rather than military draft. Likewise, Martin Belsky in this book, demonstrates why anti-busing to the supervisor, and that the city would treats perceptively of this federal district arguments based on the claim that racial have to purchase up to 600 new buses for court’s contribution to the jurisprudence discrimination in public schools does not the implementation of the new transporta- of church-state separation. Other essayists result from state action were often unper- tion system. One of the stated objectives of discuss litigation involving pollution on the suasive to the district court judges in the the order was that the “racial composition Cuyahoga River, the Kent State shootings, trenches. Battisti acknowledged the defen- of the student body of any school within and the immigration status of the convicted dants’ claim that the public school system the system shall not substantially deviate Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk. But, as in Cleveland and pertinent state authori- from the racial composition of the system the reader may have discerned from the ties had no involvement in the “private as a whole.” action” that had led to segregation. But The defendants appealed this remedial he surveyed facts from 1935 to 1970 and decision, and the issues involved became found that such practices as the location of the focal point for further litigation slugfests new school construction, the assignment of until 1994, when, after 16 years of trench faculty members and school administrators, warfare, the parties agreed to a consent special transfers (allowing white students decree. to transfer from predominantly black to The consent decree, which on its face predominantly white schools), relay classes was to have a term of six years, exempt- (doubling up classes within overcrowded ed certain schools from the racial balance black schools), “intact busing,” and the like, requirement of the 1978 order, obligated all belied that claim. the state to spend $295 million on deseg- Let’s focus on “intact busing” for a regation efforts, and had the city kick in moment. This was a practice, employed another $275 million. It also refined the pro- when black schools were overcrowded, of cesses of implementation and compliance bringing the students in those schools to established by the 1978 order. Significantly, white schools as “intact” groups, so as to too, it allowed for a defendants’ motion for preserve the separation of races even with determination of unitary status; that is, respect to students within the same build- for a judicial determination that the goal

June 2013 • The Federal Lawyer • 85 of racial desegregation had been accom- Final Thoughts The Immigration Crucible: Transforming plished. Thus, the consent decree held out Perhaps it is time that we look again at Race, Nation, and the Limits of the Law, the hope that such a motion could dismantle how courts might accept the facts of racial a book devoted to a discussion of immigra- most of the decree at some point prior to its segregation, acknowledge without blinking tion policy that may give readers some scheduled expiration in 2000. the long (and continuing) history of state insights into the immigration legislation that Judge Battisti passed away in October involvement with such segregation, and rule Congress has begun crafting. 1994, and Judge Robert Krupansky became on those facts as the plain language of the Philip Kretsedemas is an associate responsible for further proceedings in Reed Equal Protection Clause requires, without professor of sociology at the University v. Rhodes. Judge Krupansky later trans- judges involving themselves in a teleologi- of Massachusetts Boston, where he has ferred the case to another jurist, George cally futile role as day-to-day and decade- devoted several years of research to immi- White, and it was White who in 1997 deter- after-decade administrators of school sys- gration policy, immigration enforcement, mined that Cleveland had achieved unitary tems. and immigrant marginality. Prior to his cur- status. The plaintiffs appealed, and the Perhaps the courts, and even vulnerable rent position at the university, Kretsedemas Sixth Circuit affirmed in what Saphire calls schoolchildren like Robert Anthony Reed spent two years as a communications direc- “a very brief, unanimous, and unpublished or Yvonne Flonnoy, would be better off if tor and policy analyst with the National opinion.” The remaining elements of judicial the courts confine themselves to declaring Immigration Project in Boston. According supervision were lifted on schedule in 2000. when there has been an equal protection to Kretsedemas, immigrants have histori- violation, stating clearly what it is, and cally been viewed with ambivalence, while What did it all achieve? ordering that it stop (subject of course to our country’s immigration policy reflects an Costs and benefits: there’s the rub. A enforcement for violations of those court overtly economic perspective. As he sees quarter century of litigation and the positive orders). None of this really calls for more it, those in the anti-immigrant camp view difference to Cleveland schools, the dif- complicated remedial plans, quotas, trans- immigrants as “the other”—people who are ference in the lives of Cleveland students, portation schemes, or compliance officers. different from the majority and are respon- appears to have been minimal. Equal protection remains a tricky goal. sible for taking undue advantage of social Saphire doesn’t see this as discrediting All that can be said decisively, with this services here, displacing many from their the efforts he has described and I have chapter of this fine book as an item of evi- jobs, and driving down wages for all work- just summarized. Indeed, he praises Battisti dence, is that our legal system hasn’t gotten ers. From this perspective, immigration is a for having the “personal courage, intellect, it right yet.  drag on the economy, and it is not surpris- stamina, and conviction” that allowed him ing to hear calls for limiting which individu- to make the effort over the final 20 years of Christopher Faille graduated from Western als and groups should be allowed into the his life. But, as Saphire also acknowledges, New England College School of Law in 1982 United States. The pro-immigrant camp, by actual improvements as a result of this and became a member of the Connecticut bar contrast, according to Kretsedemas, views Sisyphean toil seem elusive. soon thereafter. He is at work on a book that immigrants as hard workers willing to fill Saphire writes, “If the measure of suc- will make the quants of Wall Street intelli- jobs that native-born workers are unwilling cess lies in the achievement of dramatic (or, gible to sociology majors. to take. Immigration from this perspective is for that matter, even measurable) changes good for the economy. in the racial composition of the Cleveland Although the two camps appear to be schools, the record is indeed a bleak one.” The Immigration Cruci- diametrically opposed in their views of More damning still, “if success is measured ble: Transforming Race, immigrants, Kretsedemas maintains that in terms of improvement in the actual qual- Nation, and the Limits of they agree when it comes to the matter of ity of education received by minority, or the Law indeed all, students, the record is no less By Phillip Kretsedemas problematic.” Columbia University Press, New York, NY, 2012. 213 So, how was it worth it? There are costs, pages, $85.00 (cloth), $28.00 (paper). after all. That $295 million from the state, the $275 million from the city—those mil- Reviewed by R. Mark Frey lions didn’t come from thin air. Also, one may plausibly contend that the voters of Last year, 2012, we witnessed some of the Cleveland suffered some damage to their most contentious elections in United States rights, in that their votes for or against history. Passions ran high and tempers school board members became a good deal flared as voters were served candidates— less meaningful once Judge Battisti effec- national, state, and local—with starkly con- tively took over many aspects of the running trasting visions for this country. Today, in of the schools. It would be good to know the aftermath, we find both Republicans that something valuable came out of such and Democrats unified in their commitment costs. Unfortunately, from the evidence pro- to make 2013 the Year of Comprehensive vided by this chapter, we cannot know that. Immigration Reform. It seems appropri- ate, then, to look at Philip Kretsedemas’

86 • The Federal Lawyer • June 2013 immigration enforcement. Both support view of immigrants involving such issues as ralistic. The critical question, though, is tough immigration laws. cultural pluralism, racial differences, immi- how those different populations will be assimilation, and national identity. In integrated into the social, economic, and Consider, for example, that the 1996 his chapter, “Race, Nation, Immigration,” political fabric. Will power be distributed Immigration Reform Act, which has Kretsedemas examines two key U.S. and shared by those diverse groups or will been criticized for inaugurating the Supreme Court decisions that tackled the a minority population hold power, dictating current era of get-tough immigra- question of race and citizenship. In Ozawa policies and marginalizing others? tion laws, was enacted under the v. United States, 260 U.S. 178 (1922), he The coming immigration debate factors Clinton administration. Meanwhile, notes that the Court found Asian nationals into this analysis. Kretsedemas’ book is most the Obama administration has not to be ineligible for citizenship because they vibrant and dynamic when it discusses the only continued most of the immigra- were not white. And, in United States v. necessity for a vigorous debate about immi- tion enforcement initiatives of the Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923), gration policy, especially as it relates to fac- Bush administration but has also sig- the Court found Thind to be ineligible for tors of race, cultural pluralism, immigrants, nificantly intensified them. ... Indeed, citizenship because he did not meet the and marginalization. Let’s hope that poli- the continuities in the immigration criteria for what was “popularly known cymakers seize the opportunity to grapple priorities of the past several adminis- as the Caucasian race.” According to the with these weighty issues while they con- trations have been more striking than Court, for all practical purposes, race was sider changes in our immigration laws.  their differences. not a biological concept but rather a social construct, which, in Kretsedemas’ words, R. Mark Frey is an attorney based in St. Strange bedfellows indeed, but, accord- should be “interpreted in light of popular Paul, Minn. He has practiced immigration ing to Kretsedemas, it’s a necessary result sentiments that had been shaped by the law for almost 25 years with an emphasis with an immigration policy that takes a history and culture of a nation.” The irony on political asylum, family immigration, restrictive economic view of immigration of the Thind decision, writes Kretsedemas, removal defense, and naturalization. and immigrants. And, how is this tough “is that it preserved the integrity of white enforcement manifested? For the anti- citizenship by undermining social Darwinist immigrant camp, enforcement is necessary arguments that had been used to justify the Lincoln’s Ladder to the to get those “others” out of the country, racial exclusions of the Jim Crow era.” Presidency: The Eighth and this includes increasing the authority The Immigration Crucible shines in its Judicial Circuit of state and local law enforcement to ferret call for a new vision of immigrants, immigra- By Guy C. Fraker out people who are subject to removal. “A tion, and immigration policy—a policy that Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL, good example is the role that the 2000-2008 acknowledges the growing diversity of U.S. 2012. 324 pages, $34.95. Bush administration played in overturning society while seeking to address the contin- prior legal precedent to affirm the inher- ued marginalization of immigrants in this Lincoln’s Forgotten ent authority of local governments to enact country. As Congress tackles immigration Friend, Leonard Swett their own immigration laws.” reform in 2013, Kretsedemas calls for a vig- By Robert s. Eckley For the pro-immigrant side, it’s about orous public debate about these issues and Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL, restricting immigrant rights while still the American experiment—“a discussion 2012. 306 pages, $34.95. encouraging immigration, presumably for about ‘who we are’ as a national people.” the benefits resulting from a steady flow Reviewed by Henry S. Cohn of labor. How would the pro-immigrant Once again, the main point of dis- camp restrict immigrant rights? By keeping tinction is not between white and Guy C. Fraker’s Lincoln’s Ladder to the immigrant workers without status in limbo nonwhite or immigrant and native Presidency: The Eighth Judicial Circuit (“a kind of de facto statelessness”), ever born, but between a defensive, pres- is an intriguing look at ’s vigilant to the prospect of deportation while ervationist type of identity politics legal career and the role it played in his still forming an integral part of the social and a more open, transformational attaining the presidency and in shaping and economic fabric of the United States. understanding of political-cultural his presidency. Fraker, a long-time attor- These workers’ lack of status would make identity. This latter kind of identity ney in Bloomington, Ill., previously wrote it difficult for them or their supporters to (or project) requires an openness to about the travels of the attorneys of Illinois’ organize for their rights. new interpretations of what could be Eighth Judicial Circuit in “The Real Lincoln Kretsedemas’ central thesis is that U.S. broadly defined as the U.S. national Highway: The Forgotten Lincoln Circuit immigration policy has been based on a identity. Markers.” The “highway” of this article strict economic perspective of immigrants (available online) consists of stone monu- and the degree to which they benefit the In late 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau ments erected in the 1920s to mark the U.S. economy, and that this policy has stated that, by 2043, just three decades route taken by Lincoln and other 19th- been increasingly reliant upon enforcement. from now, whites will no longer comprise century circuit-riding attorneys through the But, to Kretsedemas, that’s not the whole the majority population. In fact, there will Eighth Judicial Circuit. story. Underlying this pragmatic perspec- be no majority population, and the United Fraker begins Lincoln’s Ladder to the tive is a much more nuanced and subtle States will for the first time be truly plu- Presidency by relating Lincoln’s days on his

June 2013 • The Federal Lawyer • 87 “Guy Fraker’s superb book about Abraham Lincoln and the Illinois Eighth Judicial FRAKER updated as “The Law Practice of Abraham at Lincoln’s funeral; and attorney Ward Circuit provides an effective lesson on the importance of political networking. For more than twenty years, Mr. Lincoln rode the circuit with other lawyers and judges. These were smart, influential, and ambitious men. Lincoln made them his friends Lincoln,hroughout Second his twenty-three-year Edition” (Illinois Historic Hill Lamon, who once handled a case with and, in time, they would help Mr. Lincoln climb the ladder to the presidency. Fraker’s Lincoln’s legal career, Abraham Lincoln spent book is great history, but it is also an excellent primer for aspiring politicians.” nearly as much time on the road as Lincoln’s Ladder the to Presidency Lincoln’s Ladder the to Presidency Preservation Agency, 2009). Lincoln on behalf of a conservator. Fraker —Jim Edgar, Illinois governor, 1991–1999 an attorney for the Eighth Judicial CircuitT as he did in his hometown of Spring- “It is obvious that attorney Guy Fraker has spent a lifetime examining Abraham Lin- Ladder Unlikefield, Illinois. Yet mostAnderson historians gloss over University professor writes: “Lamon arranged for a retainer of coln’s extensive legal practice on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The results are an edifying, this time and instead have Lincoln emerge microscopic view of Lincoln the man, politician, and lawyer. If you want to understand JennyLein Photography fully formed as a skillful politician in 1858. why and how President Lincoln became the ‘lawyer in the ,’ read this book. Brian Dirck, Fraker does not see Lincoln’s $250. Lincoln presented his argument so The Eighth Judicial Circuit The Eighth Judicial Circuit In this innovative volume, Guy C. Fraker Guy C. Fraker, an attorney in Bloomington, If you want to know how Lincoln was able to maintain the support of the people, read this to the provides the first-ever study of Lincoln’s book. And if you wish to see and feel Lincoln’s evolution to greatness, enjoy this book. No Illinois, has written extensively and lectures one has described the tedium of the Lincoln law practice as well as the author; his friends, yearsprofessional at andthe personal bar home awayas from consisting mainly of suing frequently on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. He forcefully that he won in a mere twenty min- enemies, and associates, as well as the people they represented, are all here.” home and demonstrates how the Eighth Ju- was the consultant on the award-winning —Frank J. Williams, retired chief justice of the Rhode Island dicial Circuit and its people propelled Lin- PBS documentary Lincoln, Prelude to the Supreme Court and founding chair of The Lincoln Forum Presidency on colnbehalf to the presidency. of creditors and defending debt- utes. He directed Lamon to return half the Presidency and cocurated “Prologue to the Each spring and fall, Lincoln traveled Presidency: Abraham Lincoln on the Illinois “Guy Fraker’s Lincoln’s Ladder to the Presidency is a refreshing and revisioning portrait to as many as fourteen county seats in the Eighth Judicial Circuit,” a traveling exhibit ors. Fraker points out that, even in an early fee. After protesting, Lamon did so, aston- of Lincoln the Illinois lawyer. As a central Illinois lawyer himself, Fraker knows the Eighth Judicial Circuit to appear in consec- also on permanent display at the David Da- Eighth Judicial Circuit better than anyone. As a Lincoln scholar, he has an eye for The Eighth utive court sessions over a ten- to twelve- vis Mansion, a state historic site in Bloom- the revealing legal story and an ear for the interplay of Lincoln’s legal and political caseweek with period. Fraker John describes theTodd people Stuart, Lincoln repre- ishing the client.” David Davis chastised ington. He also served as an advisor to the ideas and language.” and counties that Lincoln encountered, National Lincoln Bicentennial Commis- —Ronald C. White Jr., author of A. Lincoln: A Biography discusses key cases Lincoln handled, and sion. A graduate of the University of Illinois sentedintroduces thea importantdefendant friends he made, in a criminal prosecu- Lincoln, “You are impoverishing the Bar by College of Law, he is a past president of the “Guy Fraker traverses the ‘Lincoln Country’ of central Illinois in this richly detailed Judicial account of Abraham Lincoln’s life on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Here he introduces friends who eventually formed the team McLean County Bar Association. the lawyers with whom Lincoln traveled or met on the circuit for over twenty years tionthat and executed Lincoln’sa civil nomination suit strat- charging that his client your picayune charge of fees.” Fraker, who during his ever-growing practice of law, a pursuit that simultaneously gave him a egy at the Chicago Republican Convention

network of friends who supported his political career. Drawing together both con- Circuit in 1860 and won him the presidential nomi- temporary and reminiscent sources, and bringing a sense of place to each locale on hadnation. struck the victim with a scythe. There co-curated a permanent exhibit at the David the circuit, Fraker provides a comprehensive view of Lincoln’s life in law and politics As Fraker shows, the Eighth Judicial on the Illinois prairie.” wasCircuit also provided thean perfect importantsetting for the murder case with Davis Mansion in Bloomington, Ill., also —John Hoffmann, Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, growth and ascension of Lincoln. A complete University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign portrait of the sixteenth president depends Stevenon a full understanding J. Logan of his experience in on which the defense team discusses Davis’ life—his 300-pound girth, the circuit, and Lincoln’s Ladder to the Presi- Southern Illinois University Press $34.95 usd Guy C. Fraker dency provides that understanding, as well www.siupress.com isbn 0-8093-3201-9 producedas a fresh perspective evidence on the much-studied that the so-called victim his education at Yale, his real estate-based isbn 978-0-8093-3201-4 Foreword by figure, thus deepening our understanding of the roots of his political influence and Jacket illustrations: Ambrotype of Abraham Lincoln taken by Samuel Southern was alive and well. Fraker quotes Herndon’s wealth, his conflicts with Mary Lincoln, and G. Alschuler, April 25, 1858 (Champaign County Historical Archives, Illinois Michael Burlingame acumen. The Urbana Free Library, Urbana, Illinois), and Eighth Judicial Circuit, University 1847 (painting by Don Pollack; courtesy of Perimeter Gallery, Chicago). Printed in the United States of America Press statement that Lincoln “was purely and his devotion to his wife, Sarah, who was also entirely, a case lawyer,” meaning that he one of Lincoln’s closest friends. Eckley would represent whichever side hired him, Fraker covers the travails of the circuit-

with Lincoln during his presidency. Eckley Lincoln’s concludes by tracing Swett’s life as a successful in 1849, while traveling as an attorney on lawyer in Chicago after Lincoln’s assassination, withoutthe Eighth Judicial Circuitregard in Illinois, Abraham to the nature of the cause. riders. Travel required hours of riding a where he became a civic leader and participated “With the publication of this well-documented and well-written book, an- Lincoln befriended Leonard Swett (1825–89), a other of those ‘original Lincoln men’ is rescued from obscurity. Swett was Lincoln’s in several sensational trials, including that of fellow attorney sixteen years his junior. Despite the Haymarket anarchists. Throughout his life, Lincoln’s confidant in the elections of 1860 and 1864. His loyalty to Lincoln Lincolnthis age difference, took the two men onforged ancases en- of slander, real estate, horse or driving a buggy over wide stretches Swett wrote a great deal on Lincoln, and he may have stymied his own ambitions to be governor or congressman. During during friendship that continued until Lincoln’s planned to write a biography about him dur- his successful postwar legal career in Chicago, he wrote or spoke valuable Forgotten Friend, Leonard Swett Forgotten Friend wills,assassination andin 1865. Until torts, now, no historian in addition to debtor-cred- of prairie, wading through wetlands and ing his retirement. Swett’s death preempted reminiscences of Lincoln, many of which are published here.” has explored Swett’s life or his remarkable re- this project, but his eloquent and interesting —mark plummer, author of Lincoln’s Rail- lationship with the sixteenth president. In this writings about Lincoln are described and repro- Splitter, Governor Richard J. Oglesby itorwelcome volumesuits., Robert S. EckleyHe provides served the as a prosecutor and rivers, staying at bedbug-filled inns, and duced in this volume, some for the first time. Leonard Swett first biography of Swett, crafting an intimate Perhaps the main reason for Swett’s limited “Eckley’s title says it truly: Leonard Swett has long been Lincoln’s ‘forgotten portrait of his experiences as a loyal member presence in the Lincoln literature is that Lin- friend.’ But no more. This needed book reveals the important friendship— evenof Lincoln’s asinner circle.a substitute judge. eating inedible food. In the town of Pekin, in coln never granted Swett a significant position political and personal—that developed between the men during Lincoln’s During their spring and fall tours on the within his government. In considering Lincoln’s midlife (late 1840s on). And, just as important, Swett comes alive for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, which initially took motives for such an apparent slight, Eckley con- reader as a fascinating character in his own right.” them toDuring fourteen county-seat his towns through circuit- riding, according to Tazewell County, Davis reported the sand to cludes that Lincoln felt secure in Swett’s loyalty —robert bray, author of Reading with Lincoln out central Illinois, Swett and Lincoln trav- without the need for a position and that if he eled together by horseback, horse and buggy, had appointed Swett to a major post, the two “Robert Eckley’s biography of Leonard Swett brings a special perspective Fraker,or train, and spent weeksLincoln together in primitive formed bonds with other be a foot deep and the place “horribly dirty.” would have lost their easy companionship. With to Abraham Lincoln, focusing on the long friendship the men first forged inns and taverns, often sharing crowded rooms Lincoln’s Forgotten Friend, Eckley brings Swett during their days on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Eckley portrays Swett as attorneysand meager meals. Swett assistedin Lincolncentral in his Illinois. Lincoln con- Although many of the circuit-riders hated forth from the shadows of history and sheds one of the leaders who was most active in securing Lincoln’s presidential two U.S. Senate campaigns, proved an essential new light on Lincoln’s personal relationships nomination at the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1860. member of the team behind both of Lincoln’s and their contributions to his career. Swett continued to serve as a very important working supporter through tinuednominations and subsequentto presidentialride victo the- circuit into the late the stress of travel and their days away from both of Lincoln’s presidential elections. Even more, Swett remained a con- ries, and counseled Lincoln during the forma- A native of central Illinois, Robert Eckley fidant and advisor to Lincoln during his White House years, and Eckley tion of his cabinet. Throughout Lincoln’s time earned a doctorate in economics from Harvard. draws attention to Swett’s overlooked and unrecognized importance. This 1850s,in office, Swett freelywhen roamed the hallshe of the ran for the U.S. Senate home, Lincoln found circuit-riding the hap- He was the president of Illinois Wesleyan Uni- book is a major contribution that shows the lifelong dedication of a friend White House and served as an unofficial advisor versity from 1968 to 1986. He served as president from Lincoln’s inner circle.” and sounding board. of the Abraham Lincoln Association from 2002 —ronald d. rietveld, professor emeritus, againstAfter recounting Swett’sStephen ancestry and youth A. Douglas. Lincoln’s piest time of his career. As he rode along, to 2004 and was honored with their Logan Hay California State University, Fullerton in rural Maine, Eckley chronicles his education Medal in 2007. He attorneyand legal training, his servicefriends in the Mexican- encouraged him to shrug he engaged in private thoughts; in remote published a series of southern illinois university press American War, and his circuitous route to articles on Leonard www.siupress.com $34.95 usd central Illinois, where he met David Davis and Swett in the Journal isbn 0-8093-3205-1 offstarted hisa law practice. defeat Eckley details Swett’swhen the Illinois legislature inns, he studied Euclid and Shakespeare. Jacket illustrations: photograph of Leonard Swett isbn 978-0-8093-3205-2 first meeting with Lincoln, the cases he and of the Illinois State courtesy of George Buss, Freeport, Illinois; autograph Historical Society. courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library; Lincoln tried together, and the friendship that “Standing Lincoln” bronze statue, by Augustus Saint- chosedeveloped among Douglas, Swett, Lincoln, and Davis, and a they backed Lincoln for With the construction of the railroads in Gaudens, photograph courtesy of Andrew Horne, from trio called “the Great Triumvirate of the Eighth Wikimedia Commons and licensed under Creative southern Commons Attribution Share Alike. Judicial Circuit.” Eckley also discusses Swett’s

Courtesy of Robert George illinois Robert S. Eckley pivotal behind-the-scenes role in Lincoln’s po- university President in 1860 at the Illinois Republican the 1850s, Lincoln’s final circuit-riding days, litical campaigns and Swett’s loyal friendship press Printed in the United States of America state convention in Decatur and at the before he departed for Washington in 1861, Republican national convention in Chicago. became more civilized. Lincoln’s nomination by the Republican Relying frequently on Davis’ diary, father’s farm near Decatur, Ill. in 1830, his Party virtually sealed his winning the Fraker takes the reader into each county move to New Salem, his qualifying for the presidency, in light of the rupture of the seat, describing Lincoln’s participation in bar, his election to the Illinois legislature, Democrats into northern and southern fac- the daily docket, as well as the attorneys’ and his settling in Springfield. He also writes tions. lodgings and after-hours entertainment. In of Lincoln’s first law partner, John Todd Fraker shows the Illinois circuit-riders’ Pekin, the lawyers preferred to stay at Stuart, who was a cousin of Mary Lincoln’s, role in the Lincoln administration, with “Mrs. Wilson’s” boardinghouse, rather than as well as his second partner, Steven J. several of them appointed to cabinet and at the principal hotel. The boardinghouse Logan. After having become a skilled attor- sub-cabinet posts. He raises the question was “fine and comfortable,” according to ney, Lincoln left Logan to form a partner- of why, in light of the fact that there were Davis, and each attorney had his own bed. ship with William Herndon. Fraker also two openings on the Supreme Court at the Here Lincoln made political connections details Lincoln’s role as a legislator in laying time of his first inauguration, Lincoln did with attorney Henry Grove, later an active out the Eighth Judicial Circuit, a land area not appoint his longtime friend and trusted Republican who became a valuable Lincoln more than twice the size of Connecticut. advisor David Davis to the Supreme Court ally in the 1850s. In one humorous incident, Fraker describes Lincoln’s achievements until 1863. Did Lincoln resist rewarding Fraker relates that a bat entered the Pekin as he rose from a poor farm hand in 1830, Davis and other circuit-riders until they courthouse and was circling the courtroom. to a successful railroad attorney in the late pressured him? Did Davis’ standing as a Lincoln was chosen, because of his height, 1850s, to his triumphant winning of the mere Illinois trial judge worry Lincoln? to remove the creature. He failed with a 1860 presidential election. Fraker makes Fraker provides mini-biographies of coat, but he succeeded in sweeping the bat use of the DVD-ROM “Law Practice of judges and attorneys in the circuit. These out a window with a broom. Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary included circuit judge Samuel Treat, later Lincoln’s love of circuit-riding stemmed Edition (University of Illinois Press, 2000), a federal district judge and a pall bearer in part from the fun he had with the other

88 • The Federal Lawyer • June 2013 attorneys after court adjourned each day. In but his love of travel as a young man that had eluded him as Lincoln’s unpaid Decatur, they listened to Jane Johns’ sing- brought him first to the South and then advisor. He developed a wide-ranging ing and piano-playing at the Macon House. to the Midwest. He settled in rural Illinois legal practice, including representing a In a highlight of the book, Fraker describes where he met David Davis, whom Swett Hartford, Conn. insurance company and Lincoln’s stay at the McCormack House in saw as a modern Hercules in both skill and defending accused murderers, using his the Vermilion County seat of Danville. It size. In 1849, at the Mt. Pulaski courthouse, expertise in the insanity defense. He also was from this residence in 1859 that Lincoln Davis pointed out Lincoln to Swett, and defended those accused in the 1886 Chicago sent his acceptance to speak at Cooper their relationship began. For the next 10 Haymarket riots. He tried to mediate the Union in New York City, where he gave the years, Lincoln and Swett would spar with dispute between Robert and Mary Lincoln speech that moved him into the top tier each other at times, but mostly they coop- before Robert moved to institutionalize his as a presidential candidate. Lew Wallace, erated on cases. In fact, Swett was the last mother. Swett became a pillar of Chicago later a Civil War general and the author of person to ride circuit with Lincoln in 1859 as society and was much sought after for Ben Hur, visited the McCormack House Lincoln wound down his legal career. his remembrances of Lincoln. He helped to view the circuit-riders at play; the local Swett was almost as tall as Lincoln, had Herndon with his biography of Lincoln, and population knew that their arrival made for a beard and in those years kept his weight he was, Eckley writes, “the obvious choice a good show. Wallace witnessed Lincoln down; the public occasionally would confuse as the principal speaker for the dedica- emerging victorious from a storytelling con- the two men on the street. In 1868, after tion” of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ statue of test with the other attorneys. “His hair was Lincoln’s death, he served as a model for Lincoln in Chicago’s . “No per- thick, coarse, and defiant; it stood out in Lincoln in the famous painting by George son in Chicago—or, in fact, the nation—had every direction. His features were mas- P.A. Healy called “The Peacemakers,” which known Lincoln better. ...” In an appendix sive, nose long, eyebrows protrusive, mouth has been on display in the White House since to Lincoln’s Forgotten Friend, Leonard large, cheeks hollow, eyes gray, and always 1947. It portrays, in addition to Lincoln, Swett, Eckley provides a sampling of Swett’s responsive to humor.” Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. writings and speeches about David Davis Another time at the McCormack House, Sherman, and Rear Admiral David D. Porter. and Lincoln.  an attorney entered Lincoln’s room and In 1860, Swett assisted Davis at Decatur found him engaged in a pillow fight with in convincing the Illinois Republicans to Henry S. Cohn is a judge of the Connecticut Davis. The attorney described Lincoln’s yel- endorse Lincoln, thereby starting the pro- Superior Court. low flannel nightshirt extending all the way cess that culminated in Lincoln’s nomina- to his ankles. “He was certainly the ungodli- tion in Chicago. He also campaigned heavily est figure that I have ever seen.” on Lincoln’s behalf in Illinois and Indiana in my Beloved World Fraker poignantly describes how, after the general election. In 1864, with victory in By Sonia Sotomayor Lincoln’s assassination, the train carrying the war not in sight and Lincoln under fire, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, 2013. 336 pages, Lincoln’s body to Springfield passed through Swett also strongly supported the President $27.95. a number of the Illinois towns in which against Democratic candidate George B. Lincoln had practiced in the Eighth Judicial McClellan. Reviewed by Elizabeth Kelley Circuit. What sets Lincoln’s Ladder to One would think that Lincoln would the Presidency apart from the many oth- have selected Swett, a close political ally, The dust jacket on this book is sig- ers books about Lincoln is its detailed look for a patronage position, and, in the 1860s, nificant. Across the top, the author’s name at the circuit-riders’ trips through each Swett desperately needed a sinecure. appears simply as Sonia Sotomayor, not as county in the circuit. Lincoln biographer But Lincoln never gave Swett a financial Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Across the bot- Michael Burlingame, in his introduction, reward; instead, he tapped Swett to serve tom is the title of the book, My Beloved calls Fraker’s book a “Baedeker” tour guide as an unofficial consultant and emissary. World, which is a phrase from the poem of Lincoln’s and the other attorneys’ semi- Lincoln, with Swett present, debated with translated as “To Puerto Rico (I Return),” annual trips to the county seats. himself over whether and when to issue by José Gautier Benítez. In the background One of Lincoln’s closest companions the Emancipation Proclamation. He also is a large picture of the justice smiling, and from his circuit-riding days is the subject of had Swett accompany him to Gettysburg. she is not in her judicial robes but in an Robert S. Eckley’s new biography, Lincoln’s In the summer of 1864, Swett and his wife elegant black suit. These details foreshadow Forgotten Friend, Leonard Swett. Eckley, Laura attended to wounded soldiers at a what lies inside the book—the story of Sonia who died last year at age 90, just weeks hospital, and Swett became overwrought. Sotomayor before she became a judge, of after completing his manuscript, has written While Swett was telling Lincoln about it, a woman sustained and propelled by her a fine work, which complements Fraker’s. Lincoln, hearing a bird singing, imitated proud Puerto Rican heritage, and a woman Eckley brings renewed and deserved atten- it: “Tweet, tweet, tweet; isn’t he singing who candidly takes us not just to Princeton tion to Swett, who practiced law with sweetly?” Swett started to leave, thinking University and Yale Law School, but to the Lincoln, played a key role in Lincoln’s 1860 that Lincoln did not recognize the enormity lonelier places of her life such as her father’s nomination and 1864 campaign, and who, of the soldiers’ suffering. Lincoln assured alcoholism and her failure to secure a job after Lincoln’s death, wrote about his inti- him that he did. offer after working as a summer associate. mate knowledge of Lincoln’s career. After Lincoln’s death, Swett moved to From the first chapter, our hearts open Swett was born and educated in Maine, Chicago and attained the financial success to the eight-year-old girl standing on a

June 2013 • The Federal Lawyer • 89 goals have the best sense of direction and The Admirals: Nimitz, the greatest chance of success. That applies Halsey, Leahy, and King— The Five-Star Admirals to Justice Sotomayor. As a child watching Who Won the War at Sea Perry Mason on television, she figured out that the judge made the final decision, and By Walter R. Borneman that’s what she wanted to be. Every deci- Little, Brown and Company, New York, NY, 2012. 559 sion in her life flowed from that. Sotomayor pages, $29.99. reveals that she and her husband ended their marriage because her ambition and Reviewed by Neysa M. Slater-Chandler success eclipsed his. Like most mother-daughter relation- What do Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, ships, hers with her mother is complex. and King have in common? Undeniably, Celina sacrificed for her daugh- ter. She bought a set of Encyclopedia a. They are the only U.S. Navy 5-star Britannica in installments in order to feed admirals. the hungry mind of her young daughter. She b. They were all U.S. Naval Academy worked long hours to send her to Catholic graduates. schools. But she seemed emotionally distant c. They are the subject of the book under chair to reach the stove. She is holding a and overly harsh to Sonia’s beloved father. review. needle in the flame of the gas burner to Celina was glamorous to the point that she d. All of the above. sterilize it so she can administer her own was called the Jackie O of Bronxdale. In insulin. Both her mother and her father are contrast, Sonia was awkward and didn’t care “All of the above,” of course, is the too scared to do it. about clothes. Sotomayor reveals that in answer. Walter R. Borneman’s The Sotomayor as a little girl was surrounded recent years she has repaired her relation- Admirals interweaves the biographies by love—scores of aunts, uncles, cous- ship with her mother and that they are very of Chester W. Nimitz, William F. Halsey, ins, and a worshiping although annoying close. But she is silent as to specifics. William D. Leahy, and Ernest J. King, and little brother. More complicated were her If you are reading My Beloved World for it also tells the story of the U.S. Navy in the parents—a kind but alcoholic father and a insight into Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy first half of the 20th century. Borneman’s mother who worked long hours to provide or thoughts about legal issues, you will be descriptions of the admirals’ early lives for the family, particularly after Sonia’s disappointed. But if you are reading it to bring their later achievements into better father died when she was nine. At the understand the woman behind the justice, focus, and the reader will be surprised to center of it all, like a force of nature, was you will be fully satisfied.  learn how few steps away from the 19th cen- the family matriarch, Sonia’s grandmother tury the U.S. Navy was during World War II. Abuelita. Elizabeth Kelley is a criminal defense law- Every 20th-century naval officer, including But make no mistake: this was not an yer based in Spokane, Wash. She has a spe- two assistant secretaries of the Navy named idyllic childhood. The family lived in the cial commitment to representing individu- Roosevelt, both of whom became President, South Bronx, surrounded by poverty and als with mental illness and developmental was directly influenced by veterans of the violence. Her parents often fought to the or intellectual disabilities who are accused Navy’s 19th and early 20th century naval point of screaming. At the time that Sonia of crimes. She has served two terms on the battles and thinking. was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, life board of the National Association of Crimi- William D. Leahy, the son of a lawyer, was expectancy for such children was short. nal Defense Lawyers, has served as the chair West Point’s loss. He arrived in Annapolis in The little girl grew into a very smart of the Mental Health and Corrections Com- 1893, at an institution that reflected the teenager. An older classmate told her that mittees, and is currently the chair of the “country’s low regard for its navy.” Ernest she should apply to some Ivy League col- Membership Committee. She hosts two radio J. King arrived in 1897, just after Leahy leges. She didn’t quite know what that shows, Celebrity Court and Celebrity Court: graduated, and William F. Halsey in 1900 as meant, but she followed his advice. Her Author Chats. a member of the last Naval Academy class to on-campus interviews made her feel a bit number fewer than 100. Chester W. Nimitz, like Goldilocks: Radcliffe was too prim, Yale who never received a high school diploma, was too radical, but Princeton felt just right. arrived in 1901 and graduated in 1905. Prior to entering Princeton, Sonia feels Each man witnessed history early in the sting of racism. The school nurse makes his career. Leahy served under George a snide remark about Sonia’s taking the Dewey, who in turn had served under David place of someone more deserving, and when Farragut (he of “[D]amn the torpedoes, full she and her mother are shopping for a suit- speed ahead” fame). King and Nimitz were able winter coat, the store clerk is decidedly eye witnesses to the effects of the Russo- unhelpful—until she learns that Sonia is Japanese War; Halsey sailed in the Great bound for Princeton. It is said that those with the clearest Book Reviews continued on page 95

90 • The Federal Lawyer • June 2013 SPOTLIGHT continued from page 92

†Sadie Fisher Broward County †Yaniv Adar *James H. Davidson *Lysbeth L. George *James S. Benjamin †Maria T. Arsuaga-Byrne Tampa Bay †Joe Fleishman *Daniel P. Johnson *John N. Muratides †Lara B. Bach *Alice R. Huneycutt *Nelson D. Hermilla *David W. Lee *Henry P. Bell †Erin G. Jackson †Steven Paul Johnson *Regan G. Strickland Beatty †William T. Boyd *Terry H. Lee Jacksonville *Gregory W. Kehoe *Carolyn A. Walker-Romberg *Richard P. Cole †Roy Litland †Ernest Lee *Charles F. Ketchey *Tynia A. Watson †Joel DeFabio *Samuel J. Malizia †Jamie Pasquali †Ray C. Lopez *Scott E. Williams †Martin A. Feigenbaum †Nicholas G. Matassini †David E. Martinez †Jeffrey Foreman *Charles Medalen North Alabama *Leonard A. McCue Utah †James V. Hayes *Brigid A. Merenda *George Misko †Dennis A. Mastando *Michael J. Higer †Erika L. Morabito *Vicki M. Baldwin †Lara J. Peppard *George O. Winborne Jr. †Celeste Higgins †Jay Nanavati †Robert T. Braithwaite †Elizabeth A. Ridley †Adalberto J. Jordan †Brittany J. Nelson †James S. Jardine *Lara J. Tibbals †Melissa Madrigal †Jorge M. Oben *Thomas J. Rossa Orlando *David S. Mandel *John L. Pensinger *Michael J. Thomas †Cindy Campbell D.C. Circuit †Elizabeth R. Dilts *James M. Miller †Sydney L. Pomykata †Karen Anderson †Greg Fries †Tara J. Nelson †Robert Russell †Heather Fincher †Rachel D. Gebaide †Jonathan K. Osborne *Robert B. Shanks †Jaunita A. Flessas eleventh Circuit †Augustus S. Invictus †Steven Petri *Sidney J. Silver †Anthony Sciascia *Harvey L. Strayhan III *T. Todd Pittenger †Michael Ponzoli *Thomas A. Stout *Robert W. Thielhelm †Dustin M. Robinson *Richard P. Theis Atlanta †Robert N. Scola Capitol Hill †Chad A. Wallace †Donald R. Andersen *Jason B. Sherry *William N. LaForge †Sarah A. Walters Palm Beach County *John R. Bielema Jr. *Edward Soto *Daniel Strodel *Kenly R. Webster †Paul A. Herman †Renay F. Bloom *Brian J. Stack *Paul S. Vamvas *Alexander Zakupowsky Jr. *Sidney A. Stubbs †John K. Larkins †Fernando J.Valle *Robert W. Wilkins *Anne W. Lewis *Sheryl G. Wood District of Columbia Pentagon †Marilyn P. Quail Southwest Florida †Lillian E. Adebayo *Larry D. Anderson *Ronald Raider *Patrick E. Geraghty †Natalie Adona *James W. Schroeder *Philip Savrin Tallahassee *Michael J. Baratz †Coleen Schoch South Florida *Herbert W. Thiele *Jean M. Baxley †Katrina Acosta *Jeremiah S. Buckley

BOOK REVIEWS continued from page 90

White Fleet. To think that these men could Nimitz was posted early in his career to terrifically “hew to the line” hard so easily trace their professional lineages submarines and came to understand the martinet, stony steely gentleman; the and long careers back to officers serving importance of radio communications, diesel grandfather and really loveable old almost 100 years before the four admirals engines, and a future strength of the U.S. man Nimitz—the most beloved man would see the battles for which they became Navy—refueling at sea. King and Leahy, I’ve ever known; the complete and known would be unheard of in today’s although admittedly enamored of battle- utter clown Halsey—a clown but if he youth-focused, up-or-out military (Leahy ships, appreciated the potential of naval said, “Let’s go to hell together,” you’d served well into his 70s!). aviation. Halsey understood the flexibility of go to hell with him; and then the These men were driven by technology. destroyers. Each man also understood the diplomat Leahy—the open-handed, need to remain learned in his profession and effluent diplomat Leahy. Four more in the new technologies that so changed the different men never lived and they all Navy during the 20th century and helped got to be five-star admirals, and why? the Allies win World War II. Leadership.  The Admirals is well-documented with endnotes, and its appendices are helpful for Neysa M. Slater-Chandler is a 1985 grad- non-naval types. A timeline would also have uate of the U.S. Naval Academy and been helpful, as the reader will often find currently is a U.S. government attorney. the jump from one man’s story to another’s She is a former officer of as disorienting as a move from sea to shin- Chapter and former chair of the Federal ing sea. Career Service Division. Borneman includes a quotation from Vice Admiral Roland N. Smoot, which I pre- dict will entice you to read The Admirals:

I’ve tried to analyze the four five- star Admirals that we’ve had in this Navy. You have a man like King—a

June 2013 • The Federal Lawyer • 95