1 1 10th Anniversary Celebration
2 of the Dedication of the
3 R o b e r t H. J a c k s o n C e n t e r 4
5
6
7 Featuring
8
9 H o n . J o h n G . R o b e r t s , J r .
10 C h i e f J u s t i c e 11 U n i t e d S t a t e s S u p r e m e C o u r t 12
13
14
15 In Attendance
16
17 Gregory L. Peterson, Esquire Co-Founder, Robert H. Jackson Center 18 James C. Johnson 19 President, Robert H. Jackson Center
20 David M. Crane Chairman of the Board of Directors 21 Professor John Q. Barrett 22 St. John's University
23 Hon. Melissa C. Jackson Thomas Loftus 24 Grandchildren of Justice Robert H. Jackson
25 Reverend Moritz Fuchs Introduction - Greg Peterson 2 1 FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2013
2 GREG PETERSON, ESQ.: All rise. The Chief
3 Justice of the United States. (APPLAUSE) How about that
4 Jamestown High School a cappella? (APPLAUSE) We heard
5 it all. It was terrific. Good morning.
6 THOSE GATHERED: Good morning.
7 GREG PETERSON, ESQ.: And what a morning this
8 is. Look at this crowd. Spectacular. My name is Greg
9 Peterson, and I am the co-founder of the Robert H.
10 Jackson Center. This is a special day for our entire
11 community, for it was virtually ten years ago that we
12 were privileged to have with us the Chief Justice of the
13 United States William H. Rehnquist to dedicate this
14 Robert H. Jackson Center, with a mission to preserve,
15 promote and advance the legacy of Justice Jackson through
16 education, exhibitory and events which emphasized the
17 current relevance of Justice Jackson's ideas on
18 individual freedom and justice.
19 Today we welcome Chief Justice Rehnquist's
20 successor, and his former law clerk, Chief Justice of the
21 United States John G. Roberts. (APPLAUSE) Welcome. A
22 little known fact is that Chief Justice Roberts has been
23 a longstanding, and perhaps suffering, Buffalo Bills fan.
24 (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE) And I'm sure as he stands before
25 this huge crowd in this community moment of celebration Introduction - Greg Peterson 3 1 he would echo the words of coach Marv Levy: Where would
2 you rather be than right here, right now? (APPLAUSE) In
3 order to open today's festivities, I have the privilege
4 to introduce Robert H. Jackson's bodyguard at Nuremberg,
5 who is Father Moritz Fuchs. And I would ask you to
6 please rise at this time for the invocation, and remain
7 standing thereafter enjoying Juanita Jackson, contralto
8 extraordinaire, accompanied by Bill Ward, in the singing
9 of the National Anthem.
10 REV. MORITZ FUCHS: Let us pray. Almighty God,
11 You have created us human beings as unique among so many
12 of Your creatures on this planet earth. By Your infinite
13 love and compassion and mercy You have endowed us with
14 special capacities to know and love, to understand and
15 relate in marvelous ways. Today we gather again to honor
16 Robert H. Jackson as a great man who helped verify and
17 identify our duty as citizens and as a nation, that we
18 are one nation under You, God Almighty.
19 Justice Jackson renewed our awareness that we need
20 to live by the rule of the law. His efforts showed how
21 we discovered that good law is based on Your gift to us
22 of the basic rules of workable human conduct, the Ten
23 Commandments. That law makes it our duty, our own
24 antecedent duty, to ensure that the laws governing our
25 nation and our lives are themselves just and appropriate Invocation - Rev. Moritz Fuchs 4 1 laws, embodying justice, and that they promote peace and
2 harmony. We ask Your blessing on our President, on all
3 legislators and all judges in directing the development
4 of our nation in an upward continuum striving for the
5 very ideals with which our nation's progress began.
6 We owe a great debt of loyalty for our founding
7 fathers and mothers and the pilgrims who sought religious
8 freedom. For all the pioneers and miners and farmers and
9 builders that made our nation such an outstanding wonder
10 on the pages of history. Almighty God, You have been
11 blessing us and our nation more obviously than even kings
12 and queens enjoyed in earlier centuries. Help us to have
13 the courage and determination to not lose such a
14 treasured inheritance. Robert Jackson in all his
15 national service to our country, and especially at
16 Nuremberg, exemplified the values and civic pride that
17 showed the world, and history ever since, the value of
18 justice done right.
19 Strengthen us in our resolve with the kind of
20 knowledge and determination that recognizes that we
21 depend on You, Almighty God Creator. Help us to continue
22 on the course of faithful responsibility to duty. Give
23 us the courage and determination for freedom, to make our
24 nation a beacon of hope the world over. We want to stand
25 secure with the assurance that our ideals and efforts Invocation - Rev. Moritz Fuchs 5 1 conform to Your divine plan for all of humanity. Amen.
2 THOSE GATHERED: Amen.
3 (MS. JUANITA JACKSON ACCOMPANIED BY MR. BILL WARD PERFORMED
4 AMERICA'S NATIONAL ANTHEM)
5 (APPLAUSE)
6 GREG PETERSON, ESQ.: Before I introduce
7 Professor John Barrett, who will introduce the Chief
8 Justice of the United States, I would like to acknowledge
9 everyone here who has made this special Robert H. Jackson
10 Center extraordinary, including this amazing community.
11 It goes without saying that all of you in many forms or
12 fashion have made sure that this is a special event.
13 Whether there's businesses or individual participants,
14 people supported us. It's an incredible moment in time.
15 I would like to recognize Justice Robert H. Jackson's
16 grandchildren, Tom Loftus and Melissa Jackson.
17 (APPLAUSE) And great grandson, Quentin Morgan.
18 (APPLAUSE) Also, we're privileged today to have two
19 former law clerks to Justice Robert Jackson with us.
20 Phil Neal, who was his law clerk in the 1943/'44 term and
21 E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., right here, who was his law
22 clerk during the 1953 and '54 term, and we welcome them
23 to the Robert Jackson Center. (APPLAUSE)
24 Since its earliest meetings in 2001 through today,
25 the Robert H. Jackson Center board, volunteers and this Remarks - Greg Peterson 6 1 community have kept true to the word of our mission to
2 advance the legacy of Justice Jackson through education
3 and events emphasizing the current relevance of Jackson's
4 ideas on individual freedoms and justice. From our early
5 days we have been taught by the surviving Nuremberg
6 prosecutors who joined Justice Jackson in that new
7 frontier known as the Nuremberg trial, resulting in the
8 prosecution of individuals for crimes against humanity
9 there. We annually reconfirm its relevance through
10 International Humanitarian Law Dialogues where all the
11 current prosecutors from all the current tribunals join
12 us in August.
13 We've been educated over these past years on the
14 relevance of Justice Jackson through the presence of
15 Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,
16 Eugene Gerhart, Henry Abraham, Budd Schulberg, Bennett
17 Boskey and William Coleman. We learned so much from the
18 various hosted symposiums with law clerks for Justice
19 Jackson, including the mentioned Phil Neal, Murray
20 Gartner, Jim Marsh, George Niebank, E. Barrett Prettyman,
21 Jr., Donald Cronson, as well as fellow judicial clerks
22 Earl Pollock, Daniel Meader, Gordon Davidson, Abner
23 Mikva, James Paul, Neil Rutledge, Charles Hileman and
24 Marshall Small, analyzing and discussing monumental cases
25 as the Supreme Court concerns, including West Virginia Remarks - Greg Peterson 7 1 Vs. Barnette , Korematsu Vs. United States , Youngstown
2 Steel Seizure and Brown Vs. Board of Education , among
3 others, all pausing to reflect on history and its
4 relevance in today's world.
5 We've also been educated on that specific relevance
6 of the rule of law from such historical figures as Linda
7 Brown, John Doar, the Barnette sisters, Lillian Gobitas,
8 Fred Korematsu, James Meredith, Nicholas Katzenbach,
9 Dorothy Cotton and such current practitioners as Kenneth
10 Starr, Seth Waxman, Geoffrey Stone, Paul Clement, Linda
11 Greenhouse, Dahlia Lithwick, Pam Karlan, Jeff Shesol,
12 Jeff Toobin and Harold Burson, among others. We've been
13 thrilled to have those individuals, among others, who
14 come here to the Robert Jackson Center to tip their hat
15 to Justice Jackson and his work, and also to share their
16 collective wisdom.
17 But, above all, we continue to learn about Justice
18 Jackson's relevance today in many other ways, but none
19 more so than through the writings and presentations of
20 our next special speaker, who will honor us by
21 introducing Chief Justice Roberts. Ladies and Gentlemen,
22 St. John's professor of law, Robert H. Jackson Center
23 Elizabeth A. Lenna Fellow, John Q. Barrett.
24 (APPLAUSE)
25 PROF. JOHN BARRETT: Thank you, very much. A Professor John Barrett 8 1 backdrop to this event is an ongoing if friendly war
2 between the states, or at least between two states. As a
3 boy, Robert H. Jackson moved from the state of his birth
4 to a second state where he completed grade school and
5 high school and then embarked on life. Our honored
6 guest, John G. Roberts, Jr., did the same thing in his
7 boyhood. In Jackson's case, following his birth and
8 early boyhood on the family farm in Spring Creek
9 Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, the move was to
10 Frewsburg, New York, and then to Jamestown. Pennsylvania
11 to New York. In John Roberts' case, following his birth
12 and early boyhood in Buffalo, New York, the move was to
13 Indiana. New York to Indiana. I do not know the state
14 of the New York versus Indiana rivalry to claim John
15 Roberts. It might exist already. I am sure that in time
16 it will. I do know that Pennsylvanians are a bit unhappy
17 about New York State proudly claiming Pennsylvania's
18 Robert H. Jackson, including since last year in the heart
19 of Buffalo the majestic new Robert H. Jackson United
20 States courthouse. Indeed, a federal judge from
21 Pittsburgh suggested to me that you, Mr. Chief Justice,
22 as the son of a Pitt alumnus, a Johnstowner and a
23 steeler, as in a steel industry man, should be, by
24 heredity, on Pennsylvania's side of the battle to claim
25 Robert H. Jackson. But, here you are, and we are Professor John Barrett 9 1 delighted. Welcome, Chief Justice Roberts, to Jamestown,
2 New York. Welcome to the Robert H. Jackson Center.
3 Welcome to what Justice Jackson regarded as his home
4 town, the source of what he proudly called his Jamestown
5 jurisprudence. And welcome back to your native western
6 New York state.
7 Many individual life paths converge here today. I
8 will mention six. Robert Jackson, of course. William H.
9 Rehnquist. Phil Neal. John Roberts, of course. Henry
10 J. Friendly and E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr. They are great
11 lives, lived in specific locations, intersecting and
12 shaping each other's, shaping the dedication to
13 reasoning, history, principles and the betterment of
14 lives and society that are the law.
15 Robert Jackson came to Jamestown High School in
16 fall, 1909. He then stayed, beginning to work in fall,
17 1910 as an apprentice to two Jamestown lawyers.
18 Jackson's first big case started one hundred years ago
19 this month with violent events in this community. During
20 May, 1913, Jamestown Streetcar workers went on strike.
21 To deprive the railway companies of more than labor, some
22 workers resorted to property crimes. They short-
23 circuited high tension wires, burned out a powerhouse
24 converter, broke signal handles, tried to saw down power
25 poles and placed wooden wedges in railroad track Professor John Barrett 10 1 switches. Many were arrested. Some then retained a
2 leading lawyer to defend them. But, soon he was
3 appointed to a state government office and had to leave
4 the cases. His apprentice, Robert Jackson, was 21 years
5 old. The courts had not yet admitted Jackson to practice
6 law. In these sabotage cases the defendants and Jackson
7 asked the judge to permit him to take over. The district
8 attorney consented very readily, so the judge agreed.
9 During the trial, Jackson raised a legal objection.
10 Contrary to state law, the DA's case was based only on
11 uncorroborated accomplice testimony. The judge agreed
12 and ordered the jury to acquit. Victory for Jackson in a
13 knockout.
14 Success gets noticed. Soon the street railway
15 company and it's president were Robert Jackson clients.
16 A few years later Jackson caught the eye of a young judge
17 from Buffalo. He recommended Jackson to his former law
18 firm. It recruited Jackson to the big city, the nation's
19 tenth largest. During Jackson's two years practicing law
20 in Buffalo the United States entered World War I and
21 instituted a military draft. Jackson, as the sole
22 financial supporter of his wife, his widowed mother and
23 his minor sister, was eligible for draft exemption. Mary
24 Willard, Jackson's beloved Jamestown High School English
25 teacher, and effectively his second mother, implored him Professor John Barrett 11 1 not to fight. She feared for his life and told him that
2 he was destined for greatness. He might become
3 President, she said. Or, she predicted, Chief Justice.
4 That didn't happen.
5 But, Jackson did travel other high altitude paths.
6 He was recruited back from Buffalo to Jamestown and
7 became the city attorney. He then became its leading
8 private lawyer with a truly general practice. As a still
9 young lawyer, Jackson rose to the top ranks of the legal
10 profession nationally. He also rose in public life,
11 especially through his friendship with Franklin D.
12 Roosevelt as he became Governor of New York and then
13 President. On five occasions President FDR nominated
14 Jackson to high national office, and he was confirmed by
15 the United States Senate. Jackson served in the Treasury
16 Department and then in the Department of Justice. As
17 Solicitor General of the United States he argued over 40
18 cases before the U. S. Supreme Court, and won almost all
19 of them. As Attorney General of the United States
20 Jackson managed for 18 complex months the legal issues
21 relating to U. S. preparation for possible involvement in
22 World War II.
23 In 1941, Robert Jackson became Justice Jackson.
24 Until his death in 1954 he served on the Supreme Court as
25 the eloquent, practical, independent Justice of permanent Professor John Barrett 12 1 greatness and influence. Plus, by appointment of
2 President Truman, Justice Jackson served for what turned
3 out to be a full year away from the Supreme Court as the
4 chief architect of the world's first international
5 criminal court and then as the U. S. chief prosecutor of
6 Nazi war criminals at what became the Nuremberg trial.
7 William H. Rehnquist, life number two, served in
8 World War II, then completed college, earned two masters
9 degrees, and enrolled at Stanford Law School. There he
10 impressed a young professor, Phil Neal, life number
11 three, who a few years earlier had been Justice Jackson's
12 law clerk. Professor Neal arranged for Jackson to
13 interview Rehnquist, and soon he hired him. Within two
14 years of Rehnquist's clerkship Justice Jackson was gone.
15 It was a life of only 62 years, but in his full living it
16 was a giant life, and it is a life of major legacies and
17 growing significance.
18 Life number four, John G. Roberts, Jr., began that
19 very winter in Buffalo. Raised there, and then in
20 Indiana, Roberts made a top student at Harvard college
21 and then Harvard Law School. He became a New Yorker
22 again briefly when he served as a law clerk to J. Henry
23 Friendly of the U. S. Court of Appeals in New York City,
24 life number five. Judge Friendly was one of history's
25 greats, and by the way, a Jackson-like lawyer's lawyer, Professor John Barrett 13 1 then lawyer's judge, and a great Jackson admirer. In
2 1980 John Roberts became a law clerk at the Supreme Court
3 to then Associate Justice Rehnquist. Roberts served
4 subsequently in the Justice Department, in the White
5 House and in the Solicitor General's Office. He became
6 one of his generations very finest Supreme Court
7 advocates. In private practice at Hogan and Hartson in
8 Washington he worked closely with another great attorney,
9 E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., life number six. Decades
10 earlier Barrett Prettyman served as Justice Jackson's
11 final law clerk, and in the past decade Mr. Prettyman has
12 been a devoted essential member of the Jackson Center
13 board.
14 Justice Rehnquist, of course, did become Chief
15 Justice of the United States. And ten years ago
16 yesterday he spoke here with his direct knowledge and
17 memories of Justice Jackson, and with palpable emotion
18 formally dedicating the Robert H. Jackson Center. During
19 that same month, May, 2003, John Roberts was confirmed by
20 the Senate to become a Judge of the U. S. Court of
21 Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Two years
22 later he was appointed Chief Justice of the United
23 States.
24 Now, I have no basis to claim that Indiana imparted
25 anything to John Roberts that was specifically Professor John Barrett 14 1 Jacksonian. Most every other step on the Chief Justice's
2 greatly accomplished life path, however, western New
3 York, study of history, study of law, Judge Friendly,
4 Washington, the Supreme Court, Justice Rehnquist, the
5 executive branch, the Office of the Solicitor General,
6 Supreme Court advocacy, private practice, Barrett
7 Prettyman, judicial service and Supreme Court service is
8 strikingly Jackson like and Jackson connected.
9 It thus is for the Robert H. Jackson Center and this
10 region, and for the Jackson Center's work here and
11 globally, particularly apt and very special to host
12 today's guest: The Chief Justice of the United States,
13 John G. Roberts, Jr.
14 (APPLAUSE)
15 CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Thank you. Thank you,
16 very much. Thank you. Thank you. My only response to
17 the professor's introduction is that it is great to be
18 back home. (APPLAUSE) At such a beautiful setting on
19 such a glorious day it would surely be impossible for any
20 speaker to detract from the occasion. Well, do not
21 underestimate me. (LAUGHTER) When a judge speaks in
22 court he almost always disappoints half of those present.
23 It is only on an occasion such as this outside court that
24 he has a fair chance of disappointing everyone.
25 (LAUGHTER) Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 15 1 We are here to celebrate the tenth anniversary of
2 the dedication of the Jackson Center. We do so on an
3 especially significant date. 59 years ago today the
4 Supreme Court handed down its decision in Brown Vs. Board
5 of Education , which declared that segregating public
6 school students by race violates the 14th Amendment's
7 guarantee of equal protection. Justice Jackson was, of
8 course, a member of the Court that handed down that
9 momentous decision and began the process of undoing the
10 Court's grave error in the 1896 case of Plessy Vs.
11 Ferguson . Now, just weeks before Brown was announced on
12 March 30, 1954, Justice Jackson suffered a serious heart
13 attack. In mid May he was still recovering in a
14 Washington hospital. But, symbolic of his resolve, he
15 left the hospital on Monday morning, May 17, and
16 journeyed to the Court to be present for the announcement
17 of the Brown decision. Tragically, Justice Jackson
18 suffered another heart attack a few months later and
19 passed away on October 9th, 1954. But he left behind an
20 inspiring legacy of a public servant and true patriot.
21 This center stands as a magnificent monument to this
22 great Justice. It has attracted numerous visitors from
23 our Court, as you have heard. Exactly ten years ago
24 yesterday Chief Justice William Rehnquist presided over
25 the dedication of the center. Rehnquist was, of course, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 16 1 law clerk to Robert Jackson and, as has been noted, I had
2 the privilege of being law clerk to William Rehnquist.
3 And when I was practicing law I also carried the
4 briefcase of Barrett Prettyman, another Jackson clerk
5 also present here today. So, I feel a special tie to the
6 Jackson Center through those connections, and I am
7 especially proud to share this anniversary celebration.
8 This center is an appropriate monument to its
9 namesake, who was well known for his learning and
10 eloquence. The center provides a dynamic home for study,
11 dialogue and discussion here in the heart of Jackson
12 country. It is easy for those of us who live in
13 Washington to forget that Robert Jackson was shaped by
14 this beautiful world region, his formative years in
15 Frewsburg and Jamestown, at a time when families' and
16 communities' reliance on the stable virtues of thrift,
17 industry and self-reliance were critically important.
18 He became an attorney primarily through
19 apprenticeship and self study, and he practiced law as a
20 country lawyer in this area for 20 years. Now, when he
21 left for Washington in 1934 to serve in President
22 Franklin Roosevelt's administration he traveled fast and
23 far through the ranks of government. In the brief span
24 of eight years he moved from General Counsel of the
25 Bureau of Revenue to Assistant Attorney General in the Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 17 1 Justice Department's Antitrust Division to Solicitor
2 General to Attorney General to Associate Justice of the
3 Supreme Court. But, his life was too short.
4 He died at the age of 62 after serving only 13 years
5 on the Court. But, what a mark he left. By my count he
6 delivered 154 opinions of the Court, 46 concurring
7 opinions, 115 dissents and another 15 separate opinions
8 concurring in part and dissenting in part. His decisions
9 reflect extraordinary insight and craftsmanship. Many
10 are and will continue to be lodestars of American
11 jurisprudence. The Jackson Center chronicles that
12 extraordinary career, and it serves as a vibrant reminder
13 that the good works of great men endure beyond their own
14 limited years.
15 Because Chief Justice Rehnquist had the special
16 privilege of working with Justice Jackson as a law clerk,
17 his insights into the man are especially pertinent. In a
18 1980 law review article then Associate Justice Rehnquist
19 identified a core attribute that helped explain the
20 strength of Jackson's character. As Rehnquist put it,
21 Jackson possessed that rare ability to profit from
22 experience, to accommodate his views when experience
23 seemed to require accommodation, and yet to maintain
24 throughout his life a sturdy independence of thought that
25 took nothing on someone else's say so. Consequently, as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 18 1 Jackson steadily progressed from successful small town
2 lawyer to government counsel to Attorney General and
3 ultimately to Associate Justice, he was able to carry
4 along, as Rehnquist put it, a measure of common sense and
5 a recollection that there is indeed life west of the
6 Appalachian Mountains. But, what seemed to impress
7 Rehnquist most was that Jackson did not regard his
8 private practice in New York as a route to high office in
9 Washington, nor did he regard his various executive
10 branch positions as a series of stepping stones to the
11 Supreme Court. Rather, as Rehnquist put it, he served
12 each of the interests he was bound to serve faithfully
13 and well during the time which he undertook to serve
14 them. He never used them as means merely to further his
15 career.
16 Now, even as Supreme Court Justice Jackson entered a
17 further call to government service, he took on one of the
18 most challenging assignments of his extraordinary life.
19 He accepted President Truman's assignment to serve as
20 chief counsel for the United States in the prosecution of
21 the Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. Jackson temporarily
22 took leave of his judicial responsibilities, a matter of
23 some controversy, and returned to the role of lawyer
24 because the President asked him to serve his country in
25 that capacity. He understood the gravity of his Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 19 1 assignment. As he put it in his famous opening statement
2 at Nuremberg, we must never forget that the record on
3 which we judge these defendants today is the record on
4 which history will judge us tomorrow. We must summon
5 such compassionate and intellectual integrity to our path
6 that this trial will commend itself to posterity as
7 fulfilling humanity's aspirations to do justice.
8 Now, Justice Jackson left us nearly 60 years ago.
9 It is natural to ask if we were to invite him to the
10 Court today what he would think about how it has evolved
11 over the past six decades. Now, we know that Justice
12 Jackson was never one to waste a moment, and if we
13 invited him he would be at the Court first thing tomorrow
14 morning. Upon his arrival at the Court plaza he would
15 encounter his first shock. The front facade of the
16 building is currently wrapped in a giant scrim, a drape,
17 hiding scaffolding and an ongoing marble restoration
18 project. The building, which was a mere six years old
19 when he joined the Court, is currently undergoing an
20 exterior renovation to repair the effects of Washington
21 weather on the beautiful Vermont marble.
22 Now, once Jackson recovered from that shock he would
23 encounter another. The building is closed on Saturdays.
24 (LAUGHTER) This is a sharp departure from the practice
25 during his tenure when the Court was opened six days a Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 20 1 week and the Justices only set aside Saturday to discuss
2 cases at their weekly conference. Now, I don't mean to
3 suggest that the Justices today don't work on Saturdays.
4 Just that the building itself is not open to the public.
5 So, if Justice Jackson were to wait until Monday morning
6 to come to Court he would need to arrive a little bit
7 earlier than usual. The Court now convenes for business
8 at 10 a.m., rather than at noon as it had during his
9 tenure. He may also want to allow time for a stop at the
10 Court's public cafeteria. We know from his papers that
11 Justice Jackson was fond of the cafeteria manager's
12 specialties. The Justices today continue to partake at
13 the same fare that is offered to the public.
14 Unfortunately, the legendary cafeteria manager of Justice
15 Jackson's days, Mrs. Mertens, is gone, and her famous
16 Alabama Pronto Pups are off the menu. But, we have now
17 panini sandwiches and frozen yogurt at steeply higher
18 prices that would certainly have offended Justice
19 Jackson's thrifty western New York sensibilities.
20 Now, when Jackson proceeds to his chambers he is in
21 for another shock. His office, which was located on the
22 northeast side of the building, is now occupied by one of
23 Justice Thomas' law clerks. During the 1950's Justices
24 typically had just one law clerk. The Justices' chambers
25 were located in the back of the building. Now, over time Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 21 1 the number of law clerks expanded to four, and in 1972
2 the Court renovated and expanded the existing chambers to
3 provide more space. It correspondingly added new
4 chambers to the front of the building where Justices
5 Kennedy, Breyer and Kagan now reside. The views of the
6 Capital from those chambers are absolutely spectacular.
7 Except not right now. If you've been paying attention,
8 you'll recall that those views are now blocked by
9 scaffolding and a scrim.
10 Now, with all of these surprises, Justice Jackson
11 might be ready to seek quiet refuge in the Court's
12 library. He would find that the library's beautiful
13 reading room looks remarkably familiar, except for one
14 significant manner: There are no people there other than
15 the dedicated library staff. Most of the law clerks do
16 their research now from computer terminals in their
17 offices. Of course, the Justice would need a little
18 briefing on what computer terminals are, as well.
19 At 9:55 in the morning Justice Jackson would hear
20 the familiar buzzer indicating that the Court will
21 convene shortly and it's time to proceed to the robing
22 room. From there it's a short walk across the hall to
23 the courtroom. That has changed little in appearance
24 since 1954. The drapes and the carpet are still a deep
25 burgundy, but Justice Jackson would notice a significant Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 22 1 difference in the shape of the mahogany bench behind
2 which the nine Justices sit. In Jackson's era the bench
3 was straight from end to end. But, now the end segments
4 join the center at slight angles creating a curved bench.
5 Chief Justice Warren Burger implemented this change in
6 1972 to enable the Justices to see one another during
7 argument. It also has the effect of partially
8 surrounding arguing counsel just in case they were not
9 intimidated enough already. (LAUGHTER)
10 Justice Jackson would also note that the four small
11 desks which were previously in the well of the Court in
12 the front of the bench were gone. In Justice Jackson's
13 time when decisions were announced they were literally
14 handed down. The court reporters sitting at those desks,
15 those reporters would then roll up the opinions and place
16 them in bullet-shaped cylinders, insert the cylinders
17 into pneumatic tubes which would convey the opinions
18 downstairs to the wire service reporters. Those
19 reporters would then use that hard copy to write their
20 stories. Now when the Court announces its decisions it
21 simply posts them simultaneously on the Court's website.
22 The Court takes the bench when the clock strikes 10
23 a.m. The Court takes the bench just as punctually as in
24 Jackson's day, but the composition of the Court is
25 strikingly different. In Jackson's day the Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 23 1 consisted of nine men. The nine came from different
2 parts of the country. It was still customary for the
3 president to strive for regional diversity when
4 nominating Justices. But, remarkably, at that time only
5 one of the Justices, Sherman Minton, had significant
6 experience as a judge prior to joining the Court. By
7 contrast, the current Court includes three women, and
8 eight of the nine members were judges before becoming
9 Supreme Court Justices. That's a change in the
10 background of the Justices that many have suggested has
11 altered how the Justices do their work.
12 Now, being a Monday, Justice Jackson would expect to
13 hear the announcement of opinions, because in his day
14 opinions were announced only on Mondays. But, Chief
15 Justice Warren changed that practice in 1965, and now
16 opinions can be announced any day that the Court is
17 sitting. Under our current practice the Court rarely
18 announces opinions on Mondays if it is also hearing
19 arguments on that day. Justice Jackson, as a former
20 Solicitor General, would probably be most interested in
21 the changes in how the Court currently conducts oral
22 argument. The Solicitor General is, of course, the
23 federal government's lawyer in the Supreme Court and
24 presents the government's arguments there. Jackson once
25 described his tenure as Solicitor General as the happiest Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 24 1 period of his public life. In Jackson's day the Court
2 typically allowed two hours for argument. One hour for
3 each side. That changed in 1970 when Chief Justice
4 Burger reduced the time to 30 minutes per side. Now,
5 that change has dramatically affected the style of the
6 arguments. Counsel can no longer use their time to
7 engage in a relatively leisurely discourse with the
8 Court. The Justices are anxious to reach the heart of
9 the dispute quickly, and counsel must be prepared for
10 aggressive questioning from the bench. I believe that
11 Justice Jackson would have approved of that change.
12 He spoke to the California State Association of the
13 Bar while an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. His
14 talk is one of those rare 60 year old speeches that
15 remains completely relevant and indeed is very pertinent
16 to today's Supreme Court. He correctly noted that the
17 Justices do indeed rely heavily on oral presentation, and
18 he urged his clients to choose their lawyer based on
19 skill rather than prominence. He cautioned the lawyers
20 against wasting their time flattering Justices. He noted
21 that we Justices think well enough of ourselves already.
22 (LAUGHTER) Now, I would have to leave it to others to
23 decide if that's changed since Justice Jackson's time.
24 Jackson urged the applicant to maintain focus on key
25 arguments, and he pointed out that questions should be Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 25 1 welcomed. As he put it, it is clear proof that the
2 inquiring Justice is not asleep. Jackson recognized that
3 the purpose of the argument is always and only to assist
4 the Court in resolving a legal dispute. He saw oral
5 advocacy as a high art, and knew in his own experience
6 that a skilled lawyer must have a rounded life and
7 planned judgment, to draw information from views and
8 practical experience. Justice Jackson was a wonderful
9 advocate in his day, and I believe he would be no less so
10 in today's changed environment.
11 Now, when the Court's arguments are completed it is
12 time for the Justices to take a vote on the case, and we
13 retire to the Justices' conference room, the same
14 conference room when Justice Jackson met with his
15 colleagues to discuss Brown Vs. Board of Education and
16 the other momentous decisions of his era. Now, it was,
17 of course, not true in Jackson's day, but today he would
18 see a large portrait of himself, one of only four
19 portraits in the room hanging on the wall supervising the
20 work of today's Court. Now, when I look at that portrait
21 I often remember a story that Jackson told which aptly
22 describes the proper role of a lawyer and a judge. The
23 story is a parable of three stone masons who were working
24 together on a structure. Each one was asked in turn what
25 he was doing. The first said without looking up I'm Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. 26 1 earning a living. The second said pointing to the wall
2 I'm shaping this stone to the pattern. But, the third
3 lifted his eyes skyward and said I am building a
4 cathedral.
5 Now, for some lawyers, and perhaps for some judges,
6 the law is merely a way of earning a wage. And others
7 cannot see beyond shaping a pattern according to
8 precedent. But, some inspired lawyers and judges, like
9 Justice Jackson, have understood that they are
10 participating in a loftier enterprise. The Jackson
11 Center is an enduring monument to that ideal. Members of
12 the bench and bar must aim their efforts at working
13 together to build a cathedral: What we call the rule of
14 law. It is an endeavor in which we should take great
15 pride. I congratulate the Jackson Center on ten sterling
16 years supporting that endeavor. Thank you, very much.
17 (APPLAUSE)
18 MR. JAMES JOHNSON: Mr. Chief Justice, thank
19 you, very much. Good morning. My name is James Johnson,
20 the President of the Robert H. Jackson Center, and I will
21 be joined for the next part of your program by the
22 granddaughter of Justice Jackson, the Honorable Melissa
23 Jackson, by the grandson of Justice Jackson, Thomas
24 Loftus, and by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of
25 the Robert H. Jackson Center, David Crane. Mr. Chief Robert H. Jackson Bust Presentation 27 1 Justice.
2 (APPLAUSE)
3 MR. JAMES JOHNSON: You may have observed
4 driving into the Jackson Center this morning a wonderful
5 statute of Robert H. Jackson along Main Street in front
6 of the Samuel Love Elementary School. This statute, of
7 course, greets all visitors as they come into Jamestown.
8 This statute was sculpted by Dexter Benedict, who has
9 joined us here today in the audience, and dedicated in
10 1996 by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. When we arranged
11 and we knew that you were coming to the Jackson Center
12 the idea was conceived for the Jackson Center, funded by
13 the family of the Robert H. Jackson Center, to present to
14 you, to the Supreme Court through you, a bust of Robert
15 H. Jackson. Fortunately, through a little research we
16 found that Dexter Benedict still had the mold of that
17 statute in his possession, and that he was very willing
18 and honored to be able to create a bust for us to present
19 here this morning. And so, Mr. Chief Justice, if you
20 would please approach the bust? So, on behalf of the
21 Jackson Center and the family of Robert H. Jackson, we
22 present through you to the Supreme Court a bust of Robert
23 H. Jackson.
24 (APPLAUSE)
25 CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Thank you, very much. Robert H. Jackson Bust Presentation 28 1 Thank you, very much. It will occupy a place of great
2 prominence at the Court, just as his portrait does. So,
3 thank you all, very much.
4 (APPLAUSE)
5 GREG PETERSON, ESQ.: As we draw closure to
6 this incredible day where we've been blessed and honored
7 by the presentation of the Chief Justice of the United
8 States, I want to pause and thank all of those who really
9 made this day special, and especially all of the students
10 who are here, almost 2,000 of them, who have come to
11 learn about the judiciary from the Chief Justice of the
12 United States, and they've prepared for this specific
13 day, and to all of the volunteers, et cetera. This has
14 been a magical moment for Chautauqua County, a magical
15 moment for western New York. Certainly a magical moment
16 for the Robert H. Jackson Center. And I want to just
17 thank you so much for honoring us with your presence,
18 Mr. Chief Justice. (APPLAUSE) With that, we stand
19 adjourned.
20 (CEREMONY WAS COMPLETED AT 10:45 A.M.)
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3 CERTIFICATION
4
5 I, Gerard F. Linnecke, Senior Court Reporter, do
6 hereby certify that the foregoing is the transcript of 10th
7 Anniversary Proceedings held May 17, 2013 at the Robert H.
8 Jackson Center.
9 I further certify that the proceedings were taken down
10 in stenotype by the said Reporter, Gerard F. Linnecke, and
11 afterwards reduced to typewriting by the said Reporter.
12 I further certify that the proceedings are contained
13 fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on the within
14 proceedings, and that this copy is a correct transcript of
15 the same.
16 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my
17 hand this 21st day of May, 2013.
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20 ______Gerard F. Linnecke 21 Senior Court Reporter
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