By STEPHEN W. HOUGHTON II
While Robert H. Jackson is still quoted in teachings today, a
Supreme Court historian explained during a talk at the Jackson
Center on Tuesday why Jackson is not considered among the first rank
of justices who have served on the nation's highest court.
About 60 people attended the lecture by Henry J. Abraham, a
professor at the University of Virginia, in which he discussed the
historical context and significance of Jackson's career on the
Supreme Court.
During his presentation, Abraham spoke of Jackson's meteoric rise in
Washington during the ''new deal.'' He also discussed Jackson's feud
with fellow Justice Hugo Black, which made Jackson's tenure on the
court ''not an entirely happy one.''
The speaker said Jackson's historical significance is a result of
his writing.
''Jackson's prose is second only to (Justice Benjamin) Cardozo's,''
Abraham said. ''He brought to life major constitutional questions in
his writing. His prose helped get people's attention that he had
something important to say. Quotations of his are still used to
teach.''
As examples of the Jackson's skilled writing, Abraham twice quoted
the Supreme Court justice's famous warning that the court must not
''turn the Bill of Rights into a suicide pact.'' He also pointed to
Jackson's statement that ''those who begin coercive elimination of
dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters,'' as an
example of clear prose.
Abraham also spoke on why Jackson is usually ranked in the second
tier of Supreme Court justices, instead of with the first rank of
justices like John Marshall, Earl Warren and Roger B. Taney. He said
there are three factors that mitigate against classifying him among
the greatest members of the high court.
''He had a brief tenure. The average tenure is 23 years, he only
served for 13 years and one of those he was at Nuremberg,'' Abraham
said.
The speaker said many observers are put off because he was ''drawn
into a petty struggle'' with Black. Also, Abraham said, the fact
that Jackson's absence caused the court to deadlock is also counted
against him.
Abraham said the root of the feud was that both Jackson and Black
were both promised the chief justiceship by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. He said this was exacerbated by Jackson's yearlong
absence from the court to lead the prosecution during the Nuremberg
war crimes trials.
''More than a dozen cases were deadlocked because of Jackson's
absence,'' Abraham said.
This aggravated Black, who had ''a great love of the court,''
Abraham said. Black also thought Jackson should have recused himself
in a number of cases where he chose not to.
Abraham said the degree to which the feud between the two justices
became public was an important factor that hurt Jackson's chances to
succeed Harlan F. Stone as chief justice.
Lakewood resident E. Robert Bootey, an attorney who knew Jackson,
said he found the lecture very interesting.
''I though it was really good,'' Bootey said. ''I knew Jackson was a
Democrat, but I hadn't realized how prominent he was in the
Democratic party.''
''The talk was excellent,'' said Jack Whipple afterward. ''Professor
Abraham was informative and interesting. He really knows his subject
matter.''
A third attendee, Russell Johnson, said ''I enjoyed the presentation
very much. I learned a lot about Jackson that I didn't know.''