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Albany in the Life Trajectory of Robert H. Jackson

A Jackson Portrait for Jamestown

A Tribute to Robert H. Jackson by his Nephew

In the courtroom or out of it, Robert Jackson was a remarkable man. This judgment, however, is not entirely objective since he was my uncle. From an early age, he was his own man. Although his father insisted that he become a doctor, he was determined instead to become a lawyer. When his father refused financial assistance, young Robert borrowed money from his uncle and headed for Albany Law School where he completed the course in a single year.

Playing it Dangerous: Justice Jackson’s Passionate Style

Bob Jackson Remembered

Let no one doubt that Robert H. Jackson was a remarkable individual, with talents far beyond what might be expected in even the brightest of upstate country lawyers. Before Jackson came to Washington, while he was still relatively unknown, Judge Cardozo predicted: "You will [hear of him] -- in time." Later, Justice Brandeis (who, as Chief Justice Rehnquist has commented, "was one who did not bestow compliments casually") said that Jackson should be the Solicitor General for life. Thus, when he came to the Court in October Term in 1941 his brethren already could tell that a new star was in their midst.

Robert H. Jackson: A Perspective Twenty-Five Years Later

Remembering Robert H. Jackson at Nuremberg Decades Ago

After World War II ended in 1945, the organizers of the upcoming Nuremberg trials had an elusive vacancy on their personnel list. They needed a young military officer who (1) was already taught never to say no, (2) was short some six months of additional service before becoming eligible to resume civilian life, (3) possessed a good working grasp of the Russian language, and (4) had a solid record of experience and achievement in the legal profession. What a combo! Believe it or not, yours truly was found to have all such qualifications and was solicited to join the American legal team at Nuremberg.

Brown v. Board of Education Law Clerks Roundtable

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States decided in Brown v. Board of Education that state and federal laws segregating public school children by race were unconstitutional. In Brown, which actually is the name of just one of the five lower court decisions on school segregation that the Supreme Court reviewed 50 years ago, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote for a Supreme Court that was unanimous. The Court in Brown explicitly rejected its own almost 60-year-old precedent approving "separate but equal" public institutions and facilities for persons of differing races. Brown is generally regarded as among the most, if not as itself the most, significant Supreme Court decision in United States history.
On April 28, 2004, the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, New York, assembled, for a group discussion, four former Supreme Court law clerks: John David Fassett, Earl E. Pollock, E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr. and Frank E.A. Sander.

Robert H. Jackson at the Nuremberg Trials, 1945-1946

Having been shipped to the European Theatre of War in October 1944 as one of thousands of infantry soldier replacements, Pvt. Moritz Fuchs was sent via Scotland, Omaha Beach and Belgium to the First Infantry Division: the Big Red One. Our 26th Regiment, 3rd Battalion, was fully involved east of Aachen in the Battle of the Huertgen Forest, where I was wounded on November 19th. Our whole squad was wiped out that day. Whitey Swarthout, our platoon leader who had been with the 1st Division since the African Campaign, was due for a prized thirty-day leave when he became the first soldier I saw get killed. Deadly shrapnel from the German 88 millimeter guns burst in the pine trees, spraying all over the ground.

Brown v. Board of Education II Law Clerks Roundtable

Here is the transcript of the May 18, 2005 roundtable discussion at the Jackson Center of Supreme Court law clerks Gordon B. Davidson, Daniel J. Meador, Earl E. Pollock, and E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., who served on the Court at the time of the Brown II decision in 1955, moderated and introduced by John Q. Barrett. Although Robert H. Jackson died before the Brown II decision, his last law clerk, E. Barrett Prettyman continued to clerk for John Marshall Harlan, who succeeded Jackson on the Court. With the phrase "with all deliberate speed," Brown II dictated how the unanimous anti-segregation Brown I decision from the year before was to be implemented. Brown I was the last case that Robert H. Jackson was involved in before his death on October 9, 1954.