The Brains Behind Blackmun By David J. Garrow Readers Respond: Justice Blackmun Unbecoming Justice Blackmun By William Saletan A Measure Of Truth By Kermit Roosevelt The Federalist Capers By Roderick M. Hills Jr. A Dirty Little Secret By Eric Redman Justice on the Half Shell By Aaron Kuriloff The Prince of Darknet By Joseph D. Lasica Endnotes The author would like to express his deepest thanks to Prof. Dennis J. Hutchinson at the University of Chicago and Prof. Ross E. Davies at George Mason University School of Law for their extensive comments and assistance during the writing of this article. He also would like to thank Prof. Pamela A. Karlan at Stanford Law School for responding thoughtfully and helpfully to a query. The author has long defended and championed the constitutional vision embodied in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, and Justice Blackmun was personally most kind and gracious concerning the author's work on Liberty and Sexuality. Scholars are professionally obligated, however, to address the historical record honestly, without fear or favor. The notes below conform to the following rules of citation: DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 489 U.S. 189, 213 (1989) means that the Supreme Court decided the case in 1989, that the opinion begins at page 189 of volume 489 of the United States Reports, and that the passage quoted or mentioned begins on page 213. Books are cited by author, title, year of publication, and page of reference. Articles in law reviews and other journals are cited by author, title, volume, name of publication, page at which the article begins, page of reference, and date. Articles in newspapers are cited by author, title, paper, date, and page. Documents among Blackmun's papers are generally identified by title or author or both, by date or n.d. (no date), and by number of the box in which they are kept at the Library of Congress. Statements in Blackmun's oral history are generally cited to a particular part of the history, the date, and the page. Part One "laudatory news stories": See, e.g., Linda Greenhouse, "Documents Reveal the Evolution of a Supreme Court Justice," The New York Times, March 4, 2004, A1. See also DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 489 U.S. 189, 213 (1989). "excessive interest in trivia": Cf. Flood v. Kuhn, 407 U.S. 258 (1972). "anything but sensitive": See United States v. Kras, 409 U.S. 434 (1973). "any of the other 15 justices": Justices who served since 1954 and whose papers are publicly available are Hugo Black, Stanley F. Reed, Felix Frankfurter, William O. Douglas, Robert H. Jackson, Harold H. Burton, Tom C. Clark, Sherman Minton, Earl Warren, John M. Harlan, William J. Brennan, Arthur Goldberg, Abe Fortas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., and Blackmun. The papers of Justices Potter Stewart and Byron White and of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger remain closed. The papers of Charles E. Whittaker have been lost or destroyed. "Roe v. Wade": 410 U.S. 113 (1973); Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973). "Justice Louis D. Brandeis": As quoted by Charles Wyzanski, WhereasA Judge's Premises (1965), 61. "As late as 1940": See Dennis J. Hutchinson and David J. Garrow, eds., The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox: A Year in the Life of a Supreme Court Clerk in FDR's Washington (2002). "an important footnote": See Alpheus T. Mason, Harlan Fiske Stone: Pillar of the Law (1956), 513, reporting clerk Louis Lusky's authorship of the famous "footnote 4" in U.S. v. Carolene Products Co., 304 U.S. 144, 153 (1938). "Justice Frank Murphy": Murphy, who served from 1940 until his death in 1949, is the only 20th-century justice who ceded a greater degree of judicial authority to a law clerk than did Blackmun. See David J. Garrow, "Mental Decrepitude on the U. S. Supreme Court: The Historical Case for a 28th Amendment," 67 University of Chicago Law Review 995, 1027-28 (Fall 2000). "As the number of clerks increased": See David J. Garrow, "'The Lowest Form of Animal Life'?: Supreme Court Clerks and Supreme Court History," 84 Cornell Law Review 855 (1999). "Felix Frankfurter and John M. Harlan II": On clerks' authorship of Frankfurter's opinions, see Bernard Schwartz, Superchief: Earl Warren and His Supreme CourtA Judicial Biography (1983), 61, 413. On Harlan, see, e.g., David J. Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality: The Right to Privacy and the Making of Roe v. Wade, rev. ed. (1998), 190-91, discussing clerk Charles Fried's authorship of Harlan's now-famous dissent in Poe v. Ullman, 367 U.S. 497, 522 (1961). See also Paul J. Wahlbeck et. al., "Ghostwriters on the Court? A Stylistic Analysis of U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Drafts," 30 American Politics Research 166, 168-70 (2002). "Judge Alex Kozinski": See Kozinski, "The Appearance of Propriety," Legal Affairs, January/February (2005), and Kozinski, "The Real Issues of Judicial Ethics," 32 Hofstra Law Review 1095, 1100 (2004). Kozinski notes in the latter essay that a "casual read" of a draft opinion by its ostensible author "is a far cry from the time and effort required to study the opinion closely, deconstruct its arguments, examine key portions of the record and carefully parse the precedentsall the things a judge must do before he can call the opinion his own." See also Marvin E. Frankel, "A Matter of Opinions," The New York Times, May 15, 1994, IV-2: "Authors of the first draft do not simply put the judge's 'thoughts' into words; they substitute their own thoughts for the judge's and put them into the judge's mouth." Part Two "Blackmun's authorship of Roe": See generally David J. Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality, chapters 7 and 8; see also Garrow, "Revelations on the Road to Roe," American Lawyer, May 2000, 80-83, detailing additional information from the newly available papers of Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. "United States v. Vuitch": 402 U.S. 62 (1971). "the court's first abortion case": But cf. Wolf v. People of the State of Colorado, 338 U.S. 25 (1949). "Griswold v. Connecticut": 381 U.S. 479 (1965). "Stanley v. Georgia": 394 U.S. 557 (1969). "afford potent precedence": [Harry A. Blackmun], "No. 84United States v. Vuitch," n.d., Blackmun Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Box 123. Blackmun's language here directly foreshadowed a note he jotted to himself in October 1972 during the final stages of Roe's and Doe's consideration. "The right of privacy as exemplified in the decided cases . . . is broad enough to encompass the decision when to terminate a pregnancy." [Harry A. Blackmun], "Ga," n.d., 1 pp., Blackmun Papers, Box 152. "A fundamental personal liberty": [Harry A. Blackmun], "Procedural posture," n.d., Blackmun Papers, Box 151. The very same day that Blackmun received the Roe and Doe assignments, he wrote to an old friend and colleague at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, Tom Keys, to ask, "Would your well-stocked library have anything about the history of abortion? You can imagine why I ask." If Keys could provide some references, Blackmun could obtain copies from the Library of Congress, but "if you suggest that I come out for a week's research in your hallowed precincts, I would be tempted" (Blackmun to Thomas E. Keys, December 17, 1971, Blackmun Papers, Box 152). Keys replied, "I know how important this subject is at present," and assured Blackmun that "I will start working on your project" (Keys to Blackmun, December 23, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152). Two weeks later Keys sent Blackmun a list of relevant titles and added that "we would welcome seeing you spend some time with us in the library" (Keys to Blackmun, January 3, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152). Blackmun thanked Keys for his help and volunteered that "These are substantial cases, and I suspect that I find Mayo Clinic personnel on both sides" (Blackmun to Keys, January 6, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152). Keys soon wrote Blackmun twice with more suggestions, adding in his second letter that another librarian "has also done some things for you" (Keys to Blackmun, January 10 and January 20, 1972. See also Blackmun to Keys, January 24, 1972, all in the Blackmun Papers, Box 152). A justice seeking such external research assistance is highly unusual. "Law clerk John T. Rich": See JTR [John T. Rich], "Bench Memo: Roe v. Wade," December 10, 1971, 32 pp., Blackmun Papers, Box 151. "a forceful, 13-page list": See JTR [John T. Rich], "No. 70-18Roe v. Wade. Notes on Proposed Opinion," May 12, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 151. See also JTR [John T. Rich], "More Notes on No. 70-18, Roe v. Wade," May 17, 1972, 5 pp., Blackmun Papers, Box 151. "George Frampton": See GTF [George T. Frampton] to "Mr. Justice," May 26, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152. "Over the summer": Blackmun visited the Mayo Clinic library twice, first in late July and then again in early September. See Blackmun to Thomas E. Keys, July 3, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152; Keys to Blackmun, July 6, 1972 and July 10, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152; and Haddon Carryer to Blackmun, September 14, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152. Carryer, a Mayo physician specializing in allergic diseases and internal medicine, met Blackmun in Rochester. "I got additional information from the House of Delegates. I am sending it to you for your future consideration," he wrote. "I hope this information will be useful." "Rich and Frampton": See "Abortion Cases: program for research and drafting," n.d., 1 pp., Blackmun Papers, Box 152. At the bottom of the page, Blackmun noted "7-72 OKed to JTR & GTF." "In mid-July": See GTF [George T. Frampton] to "Mr. Justice," July 19, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152. "on August 11": See George [T. Frampton] to "Mr. Justice," August 11, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 152. "I am revising": [Harry A. Blackmun], "Conf 10-13-72," n.d., 2 pp., Blackmun Papers, Box 151. "Powell had also recommended": See Garrow, "Revelations on the Road to Roe," 83. "By selecting viability": RPB [Randall P. Bezanson] to "Mr. Justice," November 29, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 151. "Blackmun adopted": See Harry A. Blackmun to Lewis F. Powell, Jr., December 4, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 151. See also Garrow, "Revelations on the Road to Roe," 83. "Powell passed Blackmun": See Lewis F. Powell, Jr., to Harry A. Blackmun, December 11, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 151. "Marshall and Brennan concurred": See William J. Brennan, Jr. to Harry A. Blackmun, December 13, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 151. See also Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality, 581-85. "prompting Bezanson": See RPB [Randall P. Bezanson], "Memo re: Mr. Justice Brennan's Letter on the Abortion Cases," December 14, 1972, Blackmun Papers, Box 151. "As Blackmun acknowledged": See Harry A. Blackmun Oral History, Part VIII, June 2, 1995, 197. Blackmun added that "George did a yeoman piece of work on some parts of the opinion, as far as putting sentences together." Somewhat later (p. 207) he added that "I put a lot of myself into it, particularly when we came to the trimester deal, with great help from George Frampton and Randall Bezanson." Part Three "It seems to me": [Harry A. Blackmun], "No. 74-1151Planned Parenthood v. Danforth," March 22, 1976, Blackmun Papers, Box 221. "Here we are again": [Harry A. Blackmun], "No. 75-443Carey v. Population Services International," 7 pp., November 30, 1976, at 5, Blackmun Papers, Box 240. See also "75-443" [Blackmun notes for the Carey conference] ("An area in which I have been too much a part"), n.d. [ca. January 12, 1977], Blackmun Papers, Box 240, and Blackmun to William J. Brennan, Jr. March 8, 1977, Blackmun Papers, Box 240 (Blackmun penciled a notation on his file copy that "I have been too much in evidence in this area in the past few years"). "More A[bortion]": [Harry A. Blackmun], "77-781 Beal + Franklin," n.d., Blackmun Papers, Box 281. See Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379 (1979). "In a New York case": New York v. Uplinger, 467 U.S. 246 (1984). Blackmun's docket sheet on Uplinger, Blackmun Papers, Box 696, Folder 4, indicates that when the justices considered the state's certiorari petition on April 22, 1983, only Chief Justice Burger and Justice Rehnquist voted decisively to hear the case. Blackmun, along with Justices White and O'Connor, cast what Supreme Court aficionados call "join three" votes, indicating that they were willing to supply the necessary fourth vote in favor of certiorari if three other justices want to grant the petition. That unusual tally was enough to set Uplinger for oral argument in early 1984, but a few days before the case was scheduled to be heard, Blackmun had changed his mind and knew that he wanted to "DIG" the case, Supreme Court shorthand for dismissal without any decision, or "dismissed as improvidently granted." Blackmun's switch gave Justices Brennan, Marshall, Stevens, and Powell five votes in favor of dismissal. An "indecipherable state [court] opinion" was one of several factors in the case's posture that Blackmun cited to himself for his change of position. See [Blackmun], "82-1724 NY v. Uplinger + Butler," n.d., Blackmun Papers, Box 402. Of available docket sheets, Blackmun's is the first and only to record him as casting a "join three" vote in favor of granting certiorari. See also Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality, 644, 648-49. On "join three" votes, see H. W. Perry, Jr., Deciding to Decide: Agenda Setting in the United States Supreme Court (1991), 166-74, and on "DIGing," see Perry, 106-12. "because he wanted to wait": See [Blackmun], "82-1724 NY v. Uplinger + Butler," n.d., Blackmun Papers, Box 402. "Bowers v. Hardwick": 478 U. S. 186 (1986). "Michael Hardwick": See Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality, 652-65. "Clerk Pamela Karlan": Two months earlier, Karlan had directly challenged Blackmun concerning the phrasing of his draft opinion in that term's major abortion case, Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747 (1986). "I think the constant appending of phrases like 'with her physician' to the description of the woman's right to an abortion," Karlan wrote, "is unnecessary. Of course, doctors have responsibilities to their patients which affect tremendously women's decisions to have abortions. But it is a woman's right, and not a physician's, and I think the repeated reiteration of the physician's role detracts from the essential nature of this right to women." Pam [Karlan] to Mr. Justice, "Thornburgh," February 3, 1986, Blackmun Papers, Box 436. "Karlan played a decisive role": See Pam [Karlan] to Mr. Justice, June 24, 1986, Blackmun Papers, Box 451. "Blackmun recalled": Harry A. Blackmun Oral History, Part XIV, November 1, 1995, 370. "Never thought about": Blackmun Oral History, Part VIII, June 2, 1995, 209. "Did you see it as an explicit link": Blackmun Oral History, Part XIV, November 1, 1995, 472-73. "a different style of operating": Blackmun Oral History, Part XVI, December 1, 1995, 409. Part Four "Webster v. Reproductive Health Services": 492 U.S. 490 (1989). "Blackmun himself drafted two paragraphs": See Eddie [Lazarus] to Mr. Justice, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, May 26, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 536: "The two paragraphs that you have drafted are powerful and moving in a way that I could not even hope to emulate. I shall strive to equal them in the portions of the dissent that I have the privilege of drafting." "Lazarus kept Blackmun apprised": See Eddie [Lazarus] to Mr. Justice, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, May 30, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 536 ("some of the themes I am developing in the dissent"); Eddie [Lazarus] to Mr. Justice, "Re: Dworkin Article," June 6, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 536 ("I am now full steam ahead on the dissent and will work on it as hard as I possibly canand be as tough as I possibly can."); Eddie [Lazarus] to Mr. Justice, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, June 16, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 536 ("Attached is the first part of the dissent . . . I do not think the other two sections will take very long to draft"). "I hope you like": Eddie [Lazarus] to Mr. Justice, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, June 17, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 536. "The expected circulation": Eddie [Lazarus] to Mr. Justice, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, June 22, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 536. "Hodgson v. Minnesota": 497 U.S. 417 (1990). "Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health": 497 U.S. 502 (1990). "Dupre closely monitored": See Anne [Dupre] to Mr. Justice, November 29, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 545. ("Just some last minute grapevine news: (1) AMK [Anthony M. Kennedy] called his clerk at home recently (at night) to talk about Hodgson. . . . (2) SOC [Sandra O'Connor] . . . is receiving a lot of pressure from her conservative clerks ([Sandra] Ikuta and [Richard] Klingler) to uphold the statute and to abandon even the 'undue burden' test."); Anne [Dupre] to Mr. Justice, "Re: Hodgson v. Minnesota," December 8, 1989, Blackmun Papers, Box 545. ("SOC's [Sandra O'Connor's] clerk tells me that there is a memo to the Conference sitting on SOC's desk (waiting to be signed) stating that SOC believes that she will be able to join with JPS [John Paul Stevens] in the Minnesota abortion case."); Anne [Dupre] to Mr. Justice, February 16, 1990, Blackmun Papers, Box 544 ("My 'source' has just told me that SOC [Sandra O'Connor] has sent a letter to AMK [Anthony M. Kennedy] (no copies to the Conference) regarding the Ohio abortion case. She will not join Parts II and V. . . "). "advised Blackmun on how to deal": See Anne [Dupre] to Mr. Justice, March 15, 1990, Blackmun Papers, Box 545 ("hold off on a separate writing and see how WJB [William J. Brennan] fares with TM [Thurgood Marshall."). "WJB's [William J. Brennan's] clerk": Anne [Dupre] to Mr. Justice, March 22, 1990, Blackmun Papers, Box 545. "Cruzan v. Director": 497 U.S. 261 (1990). "It covers all the points": Martha [Matthews] to Mr. Justice, May 23, 1990, Blackmun Papers, Box 549. "by the spring of 1990": A comprehensive review of all personal reminiscences published by former Blackmun clerks fails to shed any explicit light on this problem. The most suggestive comments appear in Mark Schneider, "Justice Blackmun: A Wise Man Walking the Corridors of Power, Gently," 83 Georgetown Law Journal 11, 13 (1994), in which Schneider remarks that "We would only get hints of his deliberations by the questions he would pencil onto small slips of paper . . . and ask over coffee at breakfast. And they were only hints. . . . Occasionally these exchanges would generate something . . . but mostly they did not." Schneider clerked in October Term 1984. During October Term 1990, clerk Alan Jenkins authored Blackmun's draft dissent in the highly publicized abortion access case of Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991). After Blackmun reviewed Jenkins's edited draft, Jenkins expressed great relief. "I have read over your draft in Rust and am delighted that you chose to retain so much of the language from my draft." Alan [Jenkins] to Mr. Justice, February 5, 1991, Blackmun Papers, Box 568. Part Five "Lee v. Weisman": 505 U. S. 577 (1992). "Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey": 505 U.S. 833 (1992). "played notable roles in both cases": See also Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, October 8, 1991, Blackmun Papers, Box 1556: "I'm afraid that I am not going to have the summary reversal in Smith v. United States, 90-7347, ready for circulation in time for this Friday's conference . . . If you will relist Smith, I'll have it ready for circulation in time for the next conference." "Justice Kennedy's draft": Kennedy had changed sides in the 5-to-4 case months after the initial conference vote. See Kennedy to William H. Rehnquist, March 30, 1992, and Kennedy to Blackmun, March 30, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 586. "McUsic told Blackmun": See Molly [McUsic] to Mr. Justice, March 31, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 586. "The prospect of this case": Molly [McUsic], "Attachment" [to Certiorari Pool Memo], January 4, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "Stephanie Dangel, who would take over from": See Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, January 10, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. See also Lisa Wangsness, "Mystery Justice Revealed," Concord Monitor, March 22, 2004, A1 (first quoting the report that Justice Souter sought more time). "Blackmun's clerks gave him a joint memo": See Molly [McUsic], Jeff [Meyer], Andrea [Ward], Hugh [Baxter] & Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, January 16, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "We should conduct our business": Draft dissent, 2 pp., January 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "at the justices' private conference": See Blackmun Conference Notes, April 24, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "Not until May 30": See Kennedy to Blackmun, May 29, 1992, and Blackmun note headed "The 3--," May 30, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "the best possible spin": Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 8, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "a real need for something short and snappy": Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 16, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. See also Tony Mauro, "Blackmun Papers Are a Window on Court's Daily Work," Legal Times, March 5, 2004, 1 (first quoting some of Dangel's comments). "the evil nino": Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 20, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. See also Mauro, "Blackmun Papers" (first quoting the "evil nino" phrase). "[t]he one 'substantive' decision you will have to make": Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 25, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "it now reads less as a battle cry": Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 26, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. "I hope you don't feel": Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 26, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. See also Charles Lane, "How Justices Handle a Political Hot Potato," The Washington Post, March 5, 2004, A1 (first reporting Dangel's remark about "pressuring you"), and Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 30, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601 (commenting that "I also think you made the correct decision about the conclusion"). "simply as 'the Chief'": See Steff [Dangel] to Mr. Justice, June 26, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 601. See also Mauro, "Blackmun Papers" (first reporting Dangel's "Justice" remark). "sometimes harshly sarcastic references": See also Andrea [Ward] to Mr. Justice, "re: New York v. United States," June 7, 1992, Blackmun Papers, Box 600 ("Justice O'Connor's 40-page majority opinion is a hyperbolic and somewhat nauseating ode to federalism"). Part Six "clerk Andrew Schapiro": See Andy [Schapiro] to Justice Blackmun, "The Death Penalty," August 6, 1993, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. See also Sawyer v. Whitley, 505 U.S. 333, 350-51 (1992), and Greenhouse, "Documents Reveal the Evolution of a Supreme Court Justice" (first quoting some of Schapiro's language). "In late October, Alexander gave": See Michelle [Alexander] to Mr. Justice, October 27, 1993, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. "Gary Graham": See Graham v. Collins, 506 U.S. 461 (1993). "Several weeks later, Alexander gave Blackmun": See Michelle [Alexander] to Mr. Justice, November 16, 1993, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. "Schlup v. Delo": 513 U.S. 298 (1995). "Schlup was postponed, however, and Alexander reported": See Michelle [Alexander] to Mr. Justice, "Potential Vehicles for the Death Penalty Dissent," January 20, 1994, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. "One week later": See Michelle [Alexander] to Mr. Justice, "Capital Cases," January 27, 1994, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. "Two days later": See Michelle [Alexander] to Mr. Justice, "Revised Draft of the Death Penalty Dissent," January 29, 1994, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. "Alexander told Blackmun": See Michelle [Alexander] to Mr. Justice, "Voting on Death Penalty Cases," February 17, 1994, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. "Those orders would be issued": See Michelle [Alexander] to Mr. Justice, "Final Draft of the DP Dissent," February 17, 1994, Blackmun Papers, Box 648. "I no longer shall tinker": Callins v. Collins, 510 U.S. 1141, 1144 (1994). "several scholarly studies of the justices' lives": See the sources cited in Garrow, "Mental Decrepitude on the U.S. Supreme Court," 1050-52 (Black), 1052-56 (Douglas), and 1072-80 (Marshall). |
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