Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Archives
Remembering Washington and Lee Law Review's first woman editor-in-chief. (See May 11 entry below.)
Powell Archives News
May 14, 2012Case File AdditionsA dozen more Powell SCOTUS case files have been scanned and are now available online. (There are now about 130 case files available this way.) These cases deal mostly with race related issues such as voting rights and affirmative action. Among the new titles are DeFunis v. Odegaard, Washington v. Davis, and Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education. ----------------------------------------------------- May 11, 2012Department of Corrections: Mary Kay DePoy Harris, Washington and Lee Law Review's First Female Editor-in-ChiefAn exhibit honoring women graduates of W&L Law School was assembled in the brick lobby cases of Sydney Lewis Hall for April's reunion weekend. The archives supported this effort with research on the alumnae. Unfortunately, the first woman to be editor-in-chief of the law review was misidentified. (The alumna so identified, Meredith Susan Palmer, 1985L, was the second woman in the top spot. Apologies to our former administrative colleague Susan.) It was, in fact, the late Mary Kay DePoy, 1978L, who added Harris to her married name. You can read more about her and see the law review's tribute to her from our Scholarly Commons. ----------------------------------------------------- May 3, 2012Archives Closed for In-person Research Through May 18With faculty and administrative offices being emptied for a summer HVAC rennovation, the archives has been flooded with records for appraisal and destruction, and artwork for storage, as well. The research room has needed to be employed for temporary secure storage. During this period, the archives remains open for distance reference and to administrators and others stopping by for ready reference. ----------------------------------------------------- April 17, 2012Lyle Denniston's Powell Lecture Now OnlineSCOTUS Blog's Lyle Denniston delivered tenth annual Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Lecture on April 5, 2012. The entire lecture can be viewed from a link on the law school's home page or from the law school's YouTube channel. ----------------------------------------------------- March 23, 2012Spreadsheet Finding Aid Now Has Hyperlinks to Case FilesResearchers can now go directly from the spreadsheet with the listing of all of Justice Powell's Supreme Court case files, to the case files that have been scanned electronically. ----------------------------------------------------- March 21, 2012Justice Powell's First OpinionIn his first months on the Court, Justice Powell participated in a dissent and took actions on appeals as a Circuit Justice. The first opinion in which he wrote for the Court, however, -- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. First Security Bank of Utah -- was delivered forty years ago today, March 21, 1972. ----------------------------------------------------- March 19, 2012Powell Related Publications Available Through Google BooksThough the paperback version is still available for sale, John C. Jeffries, Jr.'s biography, Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., has been out of print in hardback for some time. Now there is another way to access this work, through Google Books. Some pages of the 2001 paperback edition are freely available online. You can also purchase an ebook version at the same place. The Powell Archives' 1997 publication, The Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Papers: A Guide, can also be previewed through Google Books. Researchers can also obtain a physical copy at no cost by contacting the Powell Archives. ----------------------------------------------------- March 15, 2012Illegal Immigration and Illegitimate Searches: Almeida-Sanchez v. U.S.Stephen Wasby's new article, Court of Appeals Dynamics in the Aftermath of a Supreme Court Ruling, "explores the relationship between the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals through the story of the aftermath of the 1973 border search case of Almeida-Sanchez v. United States and its progeny." Justice Powell's file for this case is now available online. ----------------------------------------------------- March 13, 2012U.S. News Law School Rankings and W&L LawThe U.S. News & World Report 2013 ranking of law schools has been released, and Washington and Lee University School of Law has returned to the top twenty five. At the request of an administrator in 2009, the archives created this history of W&L law and the U.S. News rankings. ----------------------------------------------------- March 13, 2012Powell Clerks in the News: J. Harvie WilkinsonThe Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson, clerk to Justice Powell OT 71 & 72, wrote this op-ed piece on judicial restraint for the New York Times. ----------------------------------------------------- March 12, 2012Still More Death Penalty Cases OnlineThe case files for the below mentioned Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana are now available online. ----------------------------------------------------- March 7, 2012More on the Death Penalty: Gregg v. Georgia Case File Now OnlineThis was the lead case in a group of capital cases which included Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana. In Gregg v. Georgia, the Court sought to give guidance to the states regarding death penalty legislation in light of Furman. It clearly affirmed the Court's acceptance of the use of capital punishment. Coincidentally, the Court this week ruled on the issue of counsel to indigents in capital cases. The case, Martel v. Clair is from California. ----------------------------------------------------- March 5, 2012The Death Penalty and Powell's First Term'On Powell's first day at the Court, Marshall joked, "Do you have your capital punishment opinion written yet?"' So wrote Powell biographer John Jeffries, and the quote had little hyperbole. Ten days after Powell was sworn in, Aikens v. California, the case that sought to have the death penalty declared "cruel and unusual," was argued before the court. But it was the case of Furman v. Georgia, the Court's attempt to end capital punishment without declaring it unconstituional, that would ironically bring executions back as a regular part of criminal justice in the United States. You may now see Justice Powell's files for Furman, Aikens, and a number of other death penalty cases from October term 1971. ----------------------------------------------------- Feburary 29, 2012Remembering Wilt's 100 and the Law News' First YearSomething completely different for leap day, a sports story. This Friday, March 2, will mark 50 years since Philadelphia Warrior Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks contested in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Eleven years later, with Wilt in the twilight of his career but still an indomitable force with the Los Angeles Lakers, the intrepid sports staff of the fledgling paper, The W&L Law News, were able to get a rare interview with "The Stilt." You can read both the story and the interview transcript. -----------------------------------------------------Feburary 27, 2012October Term 1972 Case Files OnlineThis term, Powell's first full term, extended from October 1972 to the summer of 1973, and presented the Court with a host of social and political issues, many of which remain contentious today. Abortion and obscenity are perhaps the most celebrated of these. But there were also questions of public school funding, public school desegregation, the rights of illegitimate children, alien rights, water rights, Congressional gerrymandering, gender based equal protection, and parental reimbursement for non-public education. Almost two dozen complete case files from this historic term are now available online. Many of them have been added this month. -----------------------------------------------------Feburary 24, 2012Roe v. Wade Now OnlineAbortion is in the news in both the Presidential election and in state legislation. See some of the machinations of the Justices in deciding the landmark Roe v. Wade case by looking at Justice Powell's case file. Doe v. Bolton is also available. -----------------------------------------------------Feburary 22, 2012Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court AdvocateIt is well known that, before she became a jurist, Justice Ginsburg argued several equal protection cases before the Supreme Court. One of these, Kahn v. Shevin, has recently been added to the cases available online. See how Justice Powell summarized Ginsburg's argument in his bench notes from oral argument. -----------------------------------------------------February 21, 2012San Antonio and Funding Public EducationRepublican presidential contender Rick Santorum's remarks on state interest in operating public schools brings to mind the 1972 case, San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodrigeuz. The case challenged the public education funding scheme of this school district. Justice Powell authored the opinion, and his extensive case file is now available online. ----------------------------------------------------- February 17, 2012Gift of Photo Valentine's J. R. Tucker BustThis photograph of the sculptor Edward V. Valentine's bust of John Randolph Tucker, first dean of the Washington and Lee University School of Law, was generously given to the Powell Archives by the Virginia Military Institute's archives. The bust was lost in the 1934 fire that destroyed the first law building which bore Tucker's name. The dedication on the photo's mat was written by J. R. Tucker's son, Henry St. George Tucker, third dean of the law school. The recipient, William M. McAllister, was likely the Oregon politician and jurist, whom the younger Tucker would have known from his own political career, and from ABA service. The photographer is unknown, though it could have been the sculptor, himself, as he created some notable images. Much of the provenance of the photo after it was given to McAllister is unknown. Eventually it was offered on ebay, purchased by a VMI alum, and given to that institution. ----------------------------------------------------- February 15, 2012Civil War AnniversaryApropos the sesquisentennial Civil War observance, this volume of the Confederate States Statutes at Large can be found in the collection of Charles Edward Burks. ----------------------------------------------------- February 13, 2012Valentine's DaySee a selection of Valentine's Day greetings and a reminiscence from Justice Powell's papers. ----------------------------------------------------- February 8, 2012"But I know it when I see it."Several case files concerning obscenity from October Term 1972 are now available online. These include Miller v. California and Paris Adult Theater I v. Slaton. ----------------------------------------------------- February 7, 2012Black History Month and Mock ConventionFebruary, of course, is Black History Month. This coming weekend is the Washington and Lee University's Mock Convention, a venerable institution more than a century old. This image of Adlai Stevenson from an October 1956 issue of The Richmond Afro-American has echos of both. At the 1956 Mock Convention, Alben Barkley both finished his speech and expired in one final breath. That convention, like the real one, nominated Adlai Stevenson. First published in 1941 The Richmond Afro-American was a direct descendant of The Richmond Planet which was started in 1882. Though Afro-American ceased publication in 1996, black newspapers are are very much alive in Richmond and throughout the United States. ----------------------------------------------------- February 3, 2012Before Citizens United ...... there was First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti. See Justice Powell's complete case file under October Term 1977 at the Supreme Court Case files in electronic format page. ----------------------------------------------------- February 2, 2012McCleskey and the Tucker LectureJustice Powell's opinion in McCleskey v. Kemp played a prominent role in Bryan Stevenson's riveting Tucker Lecture this past Monday. See the entire McCleskey case file, including 14 draft opinions, by going to the "Supreme Court Case files in electronic format" page, and scrolling down to October Term 1986. ----------------------------------------------------- February 1, 2012Remembering the TitanicReading stories about the Titanic in this the 100th anniversary of its sinkingin, brought to mind the 2000 case R.M.S. Titanic, Inc. v. The Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel ... . Judge J. Calvitt Clarke presided at the trial. His Titanic case file is in his papers. ----------------------------------------------------- January 26, 2012Judicial Humor: The Snail Darter and the "The Man for All Seasons"Soon after the TVA v. Hill decision was announced, Chief Justice Burger sent this to the opinion's author, Justice Powell.
-----------------------------------------------------January 24, 2012Justices Attendance at State of the Union AddressesVisiting law professor Todd Peppers is co-author of a study about the Supreme Court and State of the Union addresses. This work was referenced in an Adam Liptak piece in yesterday's New York Times. Here is a 1981 letter reflecting Justice Powell's thoughts on the event.-----------------------------------------------------January 23, 2012Aerial Reconnaissance PhotographyThe role of World War II aerial reconnaissance photography was the subject of a recent installment of PBS's Nova. Colonel Lewis F. Powell must have used some of these photos in his work with the intelligence section of the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe. This was a reminder, too, of the trove of captured German aerial reconnaissance photos from World War I in the John H. Tucker papers . An example can be seen here. For more on this see Terrance Finnegan's Shooting the Front: Allied Aerial Reconnaissance in the First World War. -----------------------------------------------------January 12, 2012Article About Supreme Court Confirmation HearingsAs we are taking note of Justice Powell's Senate confirmation forty years ago, the Law and Society Review article, '“No Hints, No Forecasts, No Previews”: An Empirical Analysis of Supreme Court Nominee Candor from Harlan to Kagan' is timely. ----------------------------------------------------January 7, 2012Powell Sworn In as Ninety Ninth JusticeOn this day in 1972, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. ----------------------------------------------------January 5, 2012 Bakke Case File Finished!This entire case file is now available online. ----------------------------------------------------January 3, 2012Powell Takes Oath of OfficeOn January 3, 1972, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. took the constitutional oath of office. He became a federal employee with a salary of $60,000 per year. ----------------------------------------------------Earlier Powell Archives News |
The Powell PapersSpreadsheet guide to the Supreme Court Case Files Supreme Court Case files in electronic format
Charles E. Burks Collection Other Manuscript CollectionsLaughlin, Charles Vaill, Papers, 1940-1983 Ritz, Wilfred J., Papers of, 1955-1985 Parker, Frank R. Papers, 1963-1997 Butler, M. Caldwell, Papers, 1972-1982; 1995-1997 Tucker, John H. Papers 1916-1946 Sharp, Stephen Papers, 1969-1980 Ray, Robert W., Papers, 1994-2001 Powell, Lewis F. Collection, 1937-1999 Washington and Lee University School of Law Collection Davis, John W. Collection, 1888-1953 Tucker, Henry St. George, 1874-1933 Powell, Josephine Rucker, 1929-1996 Compton, A. Christian, 1974-2001 (unprocessed; contact the archives) Law School ArchivesIndex of older law exams, 1981-2008 Faculty biographical sketches, 1849-2008 Introductory address to the law class of 1849
---------------------------------------------------------- Online ExhibitsChristmas Cards From the Josephine Rucker Powell Collection Fortieth Anniversary of Justice Powell Joining the Supreme Court Mary Kay DePoy Harris, First Law Review Editor-in-Chief
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