Regional Responsibilities Former Chief Judge Recounts Significant Historic Cases in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
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BOOK REVIEW By ALFRED W. PUTNAM JR. Regional Responsibilities Former Chief Judge Recounts Significant Historic Cases in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Mortals With Tremendous Judge Hopkinson was Responsibilities – A History the court until 1842 of the United States District (by which time Jackson Court for the Eastern District of was gone and the Pennsylvania republic by and large Written By Judge Harvey Bartle III restored, at least for a 290 pages time). $35, Saint Joseph’s University Press Much of the history that Judge Bartle recounts in considering he Hon. Harvey Bartle III the single-judge era has produced a well written, is both unfamiliar and T thoroughly researched and entertaining. I liked, unexpectedly interesting history of in particular, President the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Tyler’s appointment District of Pennsylvania. That the of Horace Binney, to research and the writing are of high which appointment the quality should come as no surprise. president somehow Judge Bartle served as a judge on that obtained the advice and court for more than 20 years and as consent of the Senate its chief judge for five. Before that, without first obtaining he was a partner at Dechert Price & Binney’s own consent. Rhoads (now known simply as Dechert, Once the Senate had having uncharacteristically dropped its voted, someone thought Price). He is also the product of a very to ask Binney whether Ivy League education at Princeton and he had any interest in the University of Pennsylvania Law the job. He didn’t. The School. So one might have anticipated man who ultimately a scholarly and comprehensive history. agreed to take it, Making the subject matter Archibald Randall, interesting, however, was surely a far was the court’s first more challenging task. The book’s Roman Catholic judge own description amply illustrates and Bartle describes his the difficulty: “Highlighted,” it says, lives and the works of his predecessors – role in the civil unrest (meaning riots) “are the court’s judges, its important not to mention the court itself. The court over which Bible should be used in the cases, and the growth and changes began as a one-judge court and it stayed public schools (this being long before in it’s jurisdiction, workload, and that way for its first 115 years (1789- anyone thought of using no Bible at administration over more than 220 1904). As a result, for the first half of all). I also think Judge Bartle – while years.” Which means, as you may have its history, the court and whichever discussing the long career of Judge John guessed, that there’s not all that much in judge sat on it were one and the same. Cadwalader (1858-1879) – makes a good terms of gratuitous sex or violence. Able Thus Judge Richard Peters, appointed by case that whatever we may think about writer though he may be, the fact is that George Washington, was the court from the resolution of constitutional questions Judge Bartle’s chosen topic essentially 1792 until 1828. Peters had the good raised in federal litigation, Civil War is foreclosed the kind of movie deal or sense to die timely so that John Quincy actually a far more effective means of miniseries that most authors want. Adams could appoint Joseph Hopkinson addressing oppressive litigation. That, He probably knew that going in, but in time for the Senate to confirm him at least, was the case with the Fugitive there it is. That said, Judge Bartle has in February of 1829 – just days before Slave Act. He doesn’t address the succeeded in breathing life into both the Andrew Jackson seized power. And Affordable Care Act. 46 the philadelphia lawyer Summer 2012 One forgets how many of the groundbreaking cases in a variety of legal disciplines arose in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In any event, once there started to be lighter work. But this seems not to 1960s to the Japanese electronics case multiple judges at the dawn of the 20th have been the case and Bartle is at his in the mid-1980s. century, they began to breed, as judges best describing the explosion of federal In covering all of these cases, along do. To get a sense of this, one need only litigation in recent decades. One forgets with many others, Judge Bartle renders look at the appendices Judge Bartle how many of the groundbreaking not only a comprehensive history of so helpfully provides at the end of his cases in a variety of legal disciplines a single court but also a chronicle of text. From the founding of the republic arose in the Eastern District of changing times in a changing country. until the death of Franklin Roosevelt, a Pennsylvania. These include not only His volume is well worth the price and total of 19 judges had been sworn in as leading constitutional cases on state the time. Even if it can’t manage an R judges of the Eastern District. But since secrets (United States v. Reynolds), the rating. that time, some 74 more have taken the separation of church and state (Lemon oath, and, as of today, there are 22 seats v. Kurtzman), abortion (Planned Alfred W. Putnam Jr. (Alfred. on the bench. Parenthood v. Casey) and the like, but [email protected]) is chairman of It might be reasoned, perhaps, that also important antitrust cases from the Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. so many hands would have made for electrical equipment case in the mid- the philadelphia lawyer Summer 2012 47.