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July 2017 Newsletter Minnesota Supreme Page 1 Court Historical Society JULY 2017 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Calendar of Events Supreme Court’s 2 New-Old Space August 11-13, 2017 - Grand Reopening of Memorials to 5 the Minnesota State Capitol Deceased Justices— Highlighting Luther August 16, 2017 - Supreme Court Law W. Youngdahl (1943- Clerk Reunion (The Lexington, St. 1946) Paul - 12:00 p.m.) Supreme Court and 6 October 19, 2017 - Justice Jeopardy the First Amendment (Kiernan’s Pub - 5:00 p.m.) Committee Activities 8 November 2, 2017 - Annual Meeting/ Reception (State Capitol) Trivia Answers 8 Membership Info 8 DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that the phrase “Equal Justice Under Law” engraved on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., did not come from a famous legal source, but was instead au- thored by the architect’s son, Cass Gilbert, Jr., and partner, Trivia Questions John R. Rockart. 1. How many justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court have left to become feder- al judges? Luther Youngdahl is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 2. How many Minnesota District Court Judges later became federal judges? During WWI, he had served as a Second Lieutenant in a Tossup Question #1 Field Artillery unit of the U.S. One of the first two people to successfully achieve this feat was a man who advocated for the Army. Following discharge, constitutional provision that made this feat possible, named LaFayette Emmett. he went on to serve MN as an associate justice of the MN Sixteen people accomplished this feat before 1920, but only six have done it since, including Supreme Court (1942-46) and Leroy Matson, Luther Youngdahl, and C. Donald Peterson. Governor (1946-51), before being appointed to the U.S. What feat, most recently accomplished by Alan Page, involves getting onto Minnesota’s high- District Court for the District est court, not by appointment, but by ballot? of Columbia where he served from 1951 until his death in Tossup Question #2 1978. Under the Minnesota Constitution, this general right does not “excuse acts of licentiousness” or allow acts “inconsistent with the peace or safety of the state.” After the Minnesota Supreme Court vacated a 1989 opinion decided under the federal constitu- YOUR COMMENTS INVITED tion, this general right was discussed under the Minnesota Constitution as it concerned “a fluo- rescent orange-red triangular sign emblem” in the Hershberger II case. We invite your comments or observations on the contents Identify this freedom that is embodied in the final two sections of the Minnesota Bill of Rights, of this Newsletter. Please which expand upon the federal constitution’s First Amendment “establishment clause” and send to [email protected] “free exercise clause.” Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society Page 2 It’s Time to Take Judicial Notice of the Supreme Court’s New-Old Space By: Steven Aggergaard The Minnesota Supreme Court has resumed its dual residency at using, and which Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea found useful the State Capitol and the Judicial Center now that restoration and for a home base during the last legislative term’s budget process. improvements to the court’s 1905 courtroom and surrounding areas are done. Well, almost done. Despite the updates, a few relics remain. They include the control panel for the old dumbwaiter that led to the where law clerks At this writing, the clock in the State Capitol courtroom is stuck at stood ready to do their duties before the days of Westlaw. 6 o’clock. Plastic sheeting covers the entry to the court’s library on the third floor. And as the court’s senior justice, G. Barry An- Although the up-down buttons are inoperable, they serve an im- derson, explained during a recent behind-the-scenes tour, details portant purpose. They make one wonder what technology of today are being ironed out so the court’s State Capitol arguments can be might be preserved when the Supreme Court’s State Capitol space live-streamed on the internet. is renovated in another hundred years. But so much has been done, to so much, that it is time to take Grand Opening judicial notice. The Supreme Court’s new-old courtroom will be on full display The court’s new-old space is awesome in the most literal sense. during the State Capitol’s Grand Opening Celebration Aug. 11-13, The oil-and-canvas murals have been restored, the skylight is 2017. Details at https://mn.gov/admin/capitol-grand-opening/ clean and clear, and the gallery was extensively altered to make About Cass Gilbert the chamber fully accessible to persons with physical disabilities. Cass Gilbert (1859-1934) designed hundreds of buildings ranging “We lost some seating but gained accessibility, which I think is a from private residences to national landmarks including the Wool- fair trade,” Justice Anderson said. “And the video in this building worth Building and United States Supreme Court. But according actually is superior to what we have in the other building.” to the Cass Gilbert Society’s website [[http:// Restoring the chamber’s turn-of-the-last-century splendor was a www.cassgilbertsociety.org/index.html]], he considered the Min- top priority in ways big and small. Among the fine touches are nesota State Capitol “the best work I have ever done, or shall ever two original lamps, restored and installed at either end of the do, and I am glad to have given it to St. Paul.” bench. “Chief Justice Gildea figured out where they were and Gilbert moved to St. Paul with his family when he was 9. He managed to get them back for us,” Justice Anderson said. worked in the city as an apprentice draftsman and then headed The new technology blends in and can be hard to spot. It includes east to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- a height-adjustable podium for lawyers, a countdown clock for nology. each justice, and new equipment (and duties) for law clerks. In 1882, he returned to St. Paul. A year later, he designed his first But what catches the most fancy is above eye level. The crown building: his mother’s house at 471 Ashland Ave. jewel is the courtroom’s skylight, uncovered and restored, giving In 1895, he was selected as the State Capitol’s architect. The pro- a sense of what it was like to attend court before the presence of ject, completed in 1905, launched his national career. The Wool- electricity was assumed. worth Building in New York was the world’s tallest building for The skylight helps illuminate the murals, which are among nearly more than a decade. He also worked on the capitol in Arkansas 60 such works of art that were restored as part of the State Capitol and designed the West Virginia Capitol. restoration project. As explained in a Minnesota Historical Socie- In Minnesota, his work was not limited to either government ty guide to the Capitol artwork [[hyperlink: https://mn.gov/admin/ buildings or the Twin Cities. Among his buildings are the Glass assets/overview-of-fine-art-in-capitol-MNHS_tcm36-74302.pdf]], Block department store building in downtown Duluth and church- the works are by John La Farge, an American artist who studied es in Hibbing and Virginia. law but became a painter instead. Numerous Gilbert-designed buildings are clustered in St. Paul. Capitol architect Cass Gilbert selected the 68-year-old La Farge to Several are within walking distance of the State Capitol and are help fulfill Gilbert’s vision of creating a space that was not only easily taken for granted without recognizing their historic signifi- accessible to the public but educational too. The La Farge paint- cance. The Cass Gilbert Society’s website contains a wealth of ings were the result. They are titled Moral and Divine Law, Re- information about Gilbert, including self-guided walking tours of cording of the Precedents, The Adjustment of Conflicting Inter- the Lowertown [[http://www.cassgilbertsociety.org/pdfs/ ests, and The Relation of the Individual to the State. St.PaulLowertownTourNotes.pdf] and Cathedral Hill [[http:// Behind the courtroom’s curtain, the Supreme Court’s Consultation www.cassgilbertsociety.org/pdfs/CGS-St.Paul-WalkingTour.pdf]] Room was restored to its original 1905 condition. Its updates in- neighborhoods. clude new furniture and a big-screen TV. The space is now suita- In 2005, TPT produced a half-hour documentary [[http:// ble for conferencing cases, which, according to Justice Anderson, www.mnvideovault.org/mvvPlayer/customPlaylist2.php? is what the court has been doing. id=18280&select_index=0&popup=yes]] on Gilbert to commem- The Supreme Court also re-acquired and renovated the Chief Jus- orate the State Capitol’s centennial. tice’s Office in the Capitol, which the Minnesota Senate had been (Continued on page 3) Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society Page 3 Minnesota Supreme Court Spaces: Then and Now The Minnesota Supreme Court Consultation Room, as depicted The Consultation Room was refurbished to closely match its in the 1940s.* original design and features and includes new technology that makes the space suitable for conferencing cases. (Steve Aggergaard photo.) Natural light permeates the refurbished courtroom, giving a sense of what it was like before all buildings were wired for The State Capitol renovation included removing coverings electricity. (Steve Aggergaard photo.) from the courtroom’s skylight. (Minnesota State Capitol Restoration photo. More photos available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/capitol-restoration.) (Continued on page 4) Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society Page 4 Minnesota Supreme Court Spaces: Then and Now Renovation of the Supreme Court’s courtroom was as exten- sive as the Minnesota State Capitol renovations themselves.
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