Byron R. White Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2003 Revised 2012 April Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Additional search options available at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms003003 LC Online Catalog record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm88077264 Prepared by Harry G. Heiss with the assistance of Kathleen Kelly and Robert Vietrogoski Revised and expanded by Harry G. Heiss with the assistance of Jennifer Bridges and John Monagle Collection Summary Title: Byron R. White Papers Span Dates: 1961-1993 ID No.: MSS77264 Creator: White, Byron R., 1917-2002 Size: 183,500 items ; 858 containers ; 361.4 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: Associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, United States deputy attorney general, lawyer, naval intelligence officer, Rhodes scholar, and professional football player. Opinion files and related administrative records documenting cases heard during White's tenure on the Supreme Court, including material on cases involving the "Miranda law", abortion, child pornography, freedom of speech, homosexuality, racial bias, and liability of news organizations. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. People White, Byron R., 1917-2002. Organizations United States. Supreme Court. Subjects Abortion--United States. Child pornography--United States. Constitutional law--United States. Freedom of speech--United States. Homosexuality--Law and legislation--United States. Judicial opinions--United States. Law--Cases--United States. Law--United States. Police questioning--United States. Press--Liability (Law) Racism--United States. Occupations Jurists. Administrative Information Provenance The papers of Byron R. White, professional football player, lawyer, deputy attorney general of the United States, and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, were given to the Library of Congress by White in 1988 and 1993. Processing History Part I of the papers of Byron R. White was arranged and described in 1992. Additional material received in 1993 was processed as Part II in 1995. This register was revised in 2000 and in 2003. Copyright Status Copyright in the unpublished writings of Byron R. White in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public. Byron R. White Papers 2 Access and Restrictions The papers of Byron R. White are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number and roman numeral designating the Part, Byron R. White, Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1917, June 8 Born, Fort Collins, Colo. 1938 B.A., University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo. 1938-1939 Football player, Pittsburgh Steelers, National Football League, Pittsburgh, Pa. 1939 Rhodes scholar, Oxford University, Oxford, England 1940-1942 Football player, Detroit Lions, National Football League, Detroit, Mich. 1942-1945 United States Naval Intelligence, Pacific Theater 1946 J.D., Yale Law School, New Haven, Conn. 1946 Married Marion Lloyd Stearns 1946-1947 Clerk to chief justice, U.S. Supreme Court 1947-1960 Attorney, Lewis, Grant & Davis, Denver, Colo. 1961-1962 Deputy U.S. attorney general 1962-1993 Associate justice, U.S. Supreme Court 2002, April 15 Died, Denver, Colo. Scope and Content Note The papers of Byron R. White (1917-2002) span the years 1961-1993. The collection documents White's tenure as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from his appointment by John F. Kennedy in 1962 through his retirement from the bench in 1993. Part I of the papers contains opinion files and related administrative records for the 1962-1983 court terms. Part II contains additional administrative records for the 1962-1983 court terms as well as opinion files and related administrative records for the 1984-1992 court terms. Part I of the collection contains numerous opinions written by White on the social, political, and economic issues that came before the court during the 1962-1983 court terms. His dissenting opinion in the Miranda v. Arizona file opposed the court's ruling that people who are arrested must be told of their constitutional right against self-incrimination before police may question them. White's opposition to the constitutional right to an abortion is reflected in the Roe v. Wade file. In New York v. Ferber, White voted with the majority in deciding that the First Amendment did not protect speech and expression in Byron R. White Papers 3 works featuring sexual performances by children under age sixteen. Included in the records of that case is his opinion written for the court that child pornography, even when not legally obscene, could be outlawed. Files in Part II focus on cases brought before the Supreme Court between the 1984 and 1992 court terms. Among these are White's majority opinion in Bowers v. Hardwick in which he wrote for the court in 1986 that consenting adults have no constitutional right to private homosexual conduct. In the file on Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio is White's majority opinion written in 1989 that established criteria for the use of statistical evidence by workers claiming racial bias. The Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. file documents the decision that news organizations can be sued for breaking a promise and disclosing a confidential source. In writing for the majority in that case in 1991, White said "the First Amendment does not confer on the press a constitutional right to disregard promises that would otherwise be enforced under state law." Files on the 1992 Mississippi desegregation case, United States v. Fordice, include White's majority opinion that to desegregate state-run colleges and universities, a state has a responsibility to do more than simply "[abolish] the legal requirement that whites and blacks be educated separately and [establish] racially neutral policies." The collection contains opinion files and administrative files arranged chronologically by court term. The opinion files document cases considered by the court with memoranda and drafts of majority opinions, dissents, and concurrences that were circulated among justices. While the circulations are typed or printed, many contain handwritten notes and other marginalia made by White or his clerks. The opinion files are segregated by appellate, miscellaneous, and original dockets. Beginning with the 1970 term, the miscellaneous docket was replaced by the in forma pauperis docket. Administrative files consist of case assignment lists, circulation records, conference lists, schedules of court hearings, decision statistics, per curiams, and some docket sheets. In addition, there are numerous memoranda and reports generated by various officers of the court, including the administrative assistant to the chief justice, administrative officer, clerk, legal officer, librarian, marshal, nurse, personnel administrator, public information officer, and reporter. The files also include information on selected cases, especially in topical files such as "capital cases" and "drug cases." Organization of the Papers The collection is organized in two series: • Part I: Case Files, 1961-1984 • Part II: Case Files, 1962-1993 Byron R. White Papers 4 Description of Series Container Series BOX I:1-I:651 Part I: Case Files, 1961-1984 For each court term the case files include both administrative files and opinion files. The administrative files consist of case assignment lists, circulation records, conference lists, schedules of court hearings, decision statistics, per curiams, and docket sheets as well as memoranda and reports generated by various officers of the court. Opinion files consist of memoranda and drafts of majority opinions, dissents, and concurrences that were circulated among justices. The opinion files are segregated by docket type: appellate, miscellaneous (terms 1961-1969), in forma pauperis (terms 1970-1983), and original. The case files are arranged chronologically by court term, alphabetically thereunder by type of docket, then by docket number. BOX II:1-II:207 Part II: Case Files, 1962-1993 For each court term the case files include both administrative files and opinion files. The administrative files consist of case assignment lists, circulation records, conference lists, schedules of court hearings, decision statistics, and per curiams as well as memoranda and reports generated by various officers of the court. The opinion files consist of memoranda and drafts of majority opinions, dissents, and concurrences that were circulated among justices. Opinion files are segregated by docket type: appellate, in forma pauperis (i.e., miscellaneous), and original. The case files are arranged chronologically by court term, alphabetically thereunder by type of docket, then by docket number. Byron R. White Papers 5 Container List Container Contents BOX I:1-I:651 Part I: Case Files, 1961-1984 For each court