Roberts and d. C. Circuit court judge Merrick Garland talk about the legacy of the lake Second Circuit appeal Appeals Court jue Henry Friendly. This is just under two hours. Good evening everyone. Im robert katzmann, chief judge of u. S. Court of appeals for the Second Circuit. I welcome each of you on behalf of my court, and where especially honored to have with us are chief justice, John G Roberts junior. [applause] today nearly 500 strong, we celebrate an american judicial giant, henry j. Friendly compuserve for 27 years on the Second Circuit court of appeals, including three years as chief judge. It is a wonderful coincidence, today is the 58th anniversary of judge friendlys appointment by president Dwight D Eisenhower to this court. Our gathering today is at the intersection of two initiatives which have engaged us for two years. The first is the one and 25th Anniversary Commemoration of the Second Circuit court of appeals chaired by circuit judge richard wesley, comprising a series of activities and projects including scholarly books and Public Events taking stock of our courts past. The second with judge victor of the seven district of new york as my cochair is justice for all courts and the community. This is a project of all the course of the Second Circuit seeking to a wide variety of Civic Education activities to bring courts closer to the communities we serve. To promote public understanding of the courts, and in courts better serve and understand the communities before us. Visit our website, www. Ca2. Mac go to learn more about this initiative and participate in it. I couldnt resist, special sense the cspan audience is with us. Of the 74 who have served as judges of our court, only two are commemorated by bronze us in our historic courtroom. These two giants of our court, learned hand and Henry Friendly are considered by many to be the two greatest judges never too absurd on Supreme Court. For all of us who sit here, they keep a watchful eye on our proceedings. I think right now they are invisible. There they are. City and back. A few words about the greatness of the men we celebrate come Henry Friendly. He began his stupendous law career in a time with Louis Brandeis for what remains to this day the highest mark ever given in the Harvard Law School. Justice Felix Frankfurter called friendly the best judge on the american scene. Judge richard poster identified him as the most powerful legal racer in american legal history. Justice Sandra Day Oconnor observed when we are looking for a court of appeals decision for use as authority we look first for opinions of Henry Friendly. And Justice Thurgood marshall quipping on the conventional Second Circuit wisdom that one should quote learned but followed guts said that for him the rule would always be quote friendly and follow friendly. His productivity on this court was simply staggering. He wrote 1056 signed public opinion. He was producing 20 more opinions than the average production of his fellow active judges. His opinions clarified roughly every area of the law he touched to pick in addition to run the time of this judgeship he wrote scholarly articles, making seminal contributions to our understanding of federal jurisdiction, administrative law, judicial discretion, the commonlaw process in the federal courts and criminal law. It is a measure of the respect shown by the Supreme Court and other courts for friendly rulings that have been cited as precedent with greater frequency than those of any other judge the low the Supreme Court with the exception of learned hand who as a circuit judge sat ten n more years than judge friendly. In recognition of his greatness, president gerald ford awarded judge friendly the president ial medal of freedom, our nations highest civilian honor. Today, as we reflect on judge friendlys greatness, we are so happy to have with us more than two dozen family members, including his daughters, john goodman and ellen simon, and numerous of his grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. We are also joined by an Outstanding Group of the judges clerks who are very grateful to i refine burke for helping together that group. Our panel this evening is a stellar assemblage of friendly law clerks and the Second Circuit colleague here we thank them most warmly. The friendly clerks with years of work ship our chief justice roberts, 19791980. Chief judge Merrick Garland of the d. C. Circuit, 19771978. Judge Raymond Randolph of the d. C. Circuit, 19691970. Seven district bankruptcy judge martin glenn, 19711972. Professor Ruth Wedgwood of Johns Hopkins university, 19761977. And frederick a dangerous, partner in the law firm, 1932 19321973. The friendly colleague panelists is our superb john newman who joined friendly a as a judge in this court in 1979 and continues to serve as a model for all of us. A special word of appreciation is due to our moderator, the brilliant pierre leval come himself a former friendly law clerk, 19631954 who with his characteristic meticulousness and imagination has shaped todays program from the very start. And if i remember correctly, he was awarded the henry j friendly metal of the american law institute, a rarely given recognition. Without further ado, i turn the proceedings over to judge wesley who is so skillfully led this years 120 fifth anniversary celebration. Judge wesley. [applause] i have to say, ive been on the bench now 30 years and this is most intimidated ive been in a courtroom in 30 years. [laughing] that murderers row up there. A little nervous, mr. Chief justice, i had to tell you the truth. Thank you, chief judge katzman for your kind words. Its really hard to believe that our one and 25th Anniversary Committee held its first meeting on october 1 of 2014, over two years ago to begin the planning of a series of programs and publications and events to commemorate this, the 125th anniversary of our court and all the Circuit Court and the United States, and to celebrate its rich history of judges and its jurisprudence. Our committee of judges, lawyers, academics, Court Executives have been hard at work plan a yearlong series of events and publications that would tell the story of this great court as reflected in its jurisprudence, its impact on the culture, and economic climate of our nation and the times and the lives of our judges who have labored here. Todays program is the fourth in a series of programs planned by the committee, and executed through the hard work of our court family and friends of the court. In the ensuing months, our court will continue to commemorate its 125th anniversary with reenactments of famous appeals heard by our court which was earlier snowed out. Were going to go for it again later in the year when the snow prospects are not so good. Memorable appeal delivered by a most distinguished scholar, a panel of judges and lawyers who will explore the circuit relationship with the state high courts, by our state high courts cousins and conclude the anniversary on september 27 with our beloved circuit justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg in residence. A copy of the calendar is available in the main lobby or on our Court Website which judge katzmann so grace is already provided you with. As i mentioned our court commissioned to major publications in conjunction with the one and 25th anniversary for our commemoration through cornell and fordham law schools and their longer use. The fordham law review published a volume last october containing seven articles i will note attorneys, and dean Matthew Deller along with several student notes on areas of jurisprudence in which this court has distinguished itself over the past 125 years the courcourt will review cornelw review which i am a graduate of course of law School Publish a biographical anthology of all the justices with sat on our court since its secession and eight united way. Tonight i am pleased to announce to you that at the suggestion of our chief judge, the cornell universituniversity press has nd to publish a biographical anthology of our court originally published last fall by the cornell law review. This book of second biology is is now available for sale through the Cornell University website and is solely responsibility of the Cornell University press. Todays program focuses on a distinguished member of our court, a brilliant jurist who played a vital role in the development of our courts jurisprudence over several tumultuous decades in our nations history. From 19591986. After attending Harvard College and law school, he clerks for associate justice Louis Brandeis in 19271920 and he turned and offered to teach at harvard and instead into private practice where in 1946 he founded the law firm now known as clearly and hamilton. Westerly partner, he served as Vice President and general counsel of pai pan am, the premr airline of the day. He must have been a very, very busy fellow. Henry friendly had a birds eye view some of the most contentious litigation in our court over the next three decades. From the pentagon papers to the polaroid litigation Henry Friendly issued over 1000 opinions and bob mentioned on cases that shape our commercial criminal and constitutional jurisprudence. I have to tell you a brief aside. As many of you know i was in a state lawyer, judge for many, many years and left to come to the Second Circuit member earlyy on i had a trademark case, and the breeze, talk about the poll the right touch of what other polaroid factory. I read friend and a soon learned what they were. According to david, his margaret, friend about 20 more opinions as bob mentioned also and is active colleagues. One drink where you and i shape up, chief, with regard to current crew, where we are standing in that 20 . I dont know, i dont think i do so whether his legacy endures to the colleagues who served with him and the law clerks whom he tutored, many of whom are with us today and were so grateful for the families present here and that the former law clerks. Tonight we will hear from several of those who had the privilege to work with him. His former loss clerks including the chief justice of the United StatesSupreme Court. Im certain this is going to be a memorable two hours for our painless a new one of the great judges in the Second Circuit. And leading the discussion as her own pierre leval, a former Henry Friendly lockwood and it is rumored, it is rumored one of the favorite law clerks of the late judge friendly. That does not come from judge leval i might add. [laughing] hes a graduate of Harvard Law School picky clerk for judge from after graduating from law school and served as the sissy nye states attorney in the Southern District as an assistant d. A. In the office of robert morgenthaler, the legendary new York District street and as a judge in the Southern District before salvation to the court in 1993. I must confess an exceptional fondness to judge leval because it was his declaration of senior status in the fall of 2002 the ultimate lead to my nomination to the Second Circuit and the wonders of article iii of the constitution of the United States. For that, i thank you. On behalf of the court i want to thank you for helping us to plan this event and for all your assistance in covering what seemed to be endless challenges we face in making todays program a reality. Ladies and gentlemen, i am pleased to give you the honorable pierre leval who will introduce our distinguished panel and will serve as moderator of todays panel. Judge leval. [applause] thank you, bob and dick, for those lovely words. This evening we celebrate one of the most remarkable jurists ever to wear the robe. Two months ago in this courtroom we celebrated another great features, Justice Thurgood marshall, whose favorite entertainment we were told was to go into his Clerks Office and tell dirty jokes. But great jurists are not all alike. I think i was [laughing] i am speculating though i would be safe in guessing that in his nearly 30 years of judging in this building never once did Henry Friendly go into his Clerks Office to tell dirty jokes or even clean ones. [laughing] rarely with judge friendly stray from the concentration on his work and then only briefly from reflections on say xenophon or beethoven. Writing opinions he would sit at his desk surrounded by the briefs and appendices which after quick study he knew pretty much cold, writing longhand, going at the same speed as if he were copying a previously prepared text, which he was. Because the entire opinion with all organized and spelled out in his head here and in this fashion he produced perfect opinions as first drafts. Most of them completed at a single sitting. Friendly was a phenomenon rarely encountered, a bona fide genius. That word is tossed around a lot. This was a real genius. In the field of law ive never encountered another person whose intellectual power, scope and understanding of law were in the same league, and he did not expect to. He carried virtually all of law in his head with a clear immediately accessible understanding of how it all fits together in works together. And his mind worked with the speed of computer circuitry. That is to say, on the Computers Good days. [laughing] he had no need for a clerk. Being his clerk was in some ways a very, very easy job, but it was not necessarily an emotionally easy job. Judge was gruff, impatient, have little tolerance for imperfection, and i like many of his clerks, those not fortified by very strong selfconfidence pass and high state of anxiety. It was rumored he written on a memo prepared by a clerk or maybe it was an associate at his law firm in britain and evaluation in terms of early derived from samuel johnson. This memo, as much that is good and as much of that is new, what is good is not new and what is new is not good. [laughing] when a clerk propose an idea that the judge didnt care for, his response when Something Like [inaudible] [laughing] and you knew that the subject was closed. I can tell you i heard a number of those. On the other hand, nothing made them happier than when a clerk identified and imperfection in the judges reasoning or suggested something that the judge considered a significant improvement of his analysis. He lit up in a radical of happiness pick interested all the implications of the suggestion. Instantly and evade the fix in minutes with his warm, suffused by this globe happiness. To tell you about the judge denied we have an amazing panel. We are incredibly grateful to them. The panel is unusual not only because of its astonishing quality but also because of its specialized Vantage Point on the subject. Each member of the panel new judge friendly to an intimate relationship in the workings of the Second Circuit. Either a as a clerk or a colleague. Accordingly, the portrait we will present to you tonight is not going to be an academic sort of evaluation. It will be an intimate portrait. I digress briefly for a moment to say that we profoundly missed having on this panel First Circuit judge michael whose health prevents them from being here with us. In the clerk family we recognize mike as the judges alltime favorite clerk. He discussed the classics of literature with the judge as an equal turkey often accompanied the judge and mrs. Friendly in foreign travel, inc. During the judges in patients if you got a little lost trying to find a quaint Little Village in in the late country. In short he was like a son to the judge. Mike has written a good deal about the friendly opinions, his duke law journal article friendly j dissenting is in the materials posted on the courts website. With handles of this distinction the best service i can win is o stop talking and let them recount their intimate reflections of the great judge Henry Friendly. Ive asked questions addressed to each panels individually might invite other panelists to offer comment or debate at the conclusion of an answer. So im going to start with Merrick Garland merrick, what was it like being the judges clerk, and by the way, how did you get the friendly