Collections

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.

Robert H. Jackson: Head of State?

Robert H. Jackson would have made an interesting President. Some might disagree principally because of his disposition to work alone on many matters but F.D.R. himself had a secretive side to him, and it did not hinder his effectiveness. Jackson would have been a strong head of state because his affable personality would have made him the type of leader that subordinates would have been eager to emulate and because he was a thoroughly practical man. He would have understood all the nuances of the problems he faced and the solutions that would or would not have worked to solve them.

The Influence of the Nuremberg Trial on International Criminal Law

The Nuremberg trials established that all of humanity would be guarded by an international legal shield and that even a Head of State would be held criminally responsible and punished for aggression and Crimes Against Humanity. The right of humanitarian intervention to put a stop to Crimes Against Humanity – even by a sovereign against his own citizens – gradually emerged from the Nuremberg principles affirmed by the United Nations.

What Price “Due Process”

The ease with which the foreign corporation is "doing business" within our state for the purpose of trade, and at the same time manages not to be doing business so as to be sued here, is attested by the number of cases in which service of process is nullified. How many cases are abandoned by counsel before suit can only be guessed at.

Justice Jackson’s Final Report

The International Military Tribunal sitting at Nurnberg, Germany on 30 September and 1 October, 1946 rendered judgment in the first international criminal assizes in history. It found 19 of the 22 defendants guilty on one of more of the counts of the Indictment, and acquitted 3. It sentenced 12 to death by hanging, 3 to imprisonment for life, and the four others to terms of 10 to 20 years imprisonment.

Justice Jackson Weighs Nuremberg’s Lessons

The choice that faced President Truman was a simple one. We had captured many enemy war leaders whom the world accused of serious crimes. Three things could be done with them: First, they could be turned free, ignoring the accusations; second, they could be punished without trial; third, there could be hearings to see just who ought to be punished and for what.

The Nurnberg Trial Becomes an Historic Precedent

The judgment of the first international criminal tribunal in history, and the first to pass judgment on crimes against peace, cannot fail to be of interest to lawyers, statesmen and diplomats over the years. Anyone who desires to rest his estimate of the trial of the Nazi war criminals on accurate, relevant and fairly complete information will find this judgment of the International Military Tribunal the most convenient and impartial source.

Report to the President on the Prosecution of Axis War Criminals

I have the honor to report accomplishments during the month since you named me as Chief of Counsel for the United States in prosecuting the principal Axis WAr Criminals. In brief, I have selected staffs from the several services, departments and agencies concerned; worked out a plan for the preparation, briefing, and trial of the cases; allocated the work among the several agencies; instructed those engaged in collecting or processing evidence; visited the European Theater to expedite the examination or captured documents, and the interrogation of witnesses and prisoners;...

Full Faith and Credit

A namesake lecture in memory of Mr. Justice Cardozo is an undertaking of more than ordinary challenge to a Justice of a succeeding generation. Even choice of a fitting subject has difficulties. One related to the work of the Court on which he and I both have served might seem appropriate. But Judge Cardozo's most significant contributions to the law are not to be found in the reports of the Supreme Court. He was preeminently a devotee of the common law, while the Supreme Court has never been distinguished as a source of common law and during his time renounced independence of judgment as to what the common law is or should be in the class of cases that most often invoked it.

Judicial Career of Chief Justice Hughes

The afterglow of a distinguished career is not a satisfactory light in which to subject it to critical judgment. Only the perspective that comes with time enables a severance of the work from the worker, and supplies the criteria to appraise the value and endurance of one's effort.