Today in Supreme Court History: April 12, 1945

4/12/1945: President Harry Truman's inauguration. He would make four appointments to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Vinson, and Justices Burton, Clark, and Minton.

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

To call the day of FDR’s death Truman’s “inauguration” is sloppy language.

[Bob from Ohio]

The on line dictioniary disagrees.

inauguration
[iˌnôɡ(y)əˈrāSH(ə)n]
NOUN
commencement · installation · [more]
the formal admission of someone to office.
"Truman's second presidential inauguration"

Only elected once so his first had to be today.

[Dan Schiavetta]

I don't think any historian would use the word "inauguration" in this context.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Nor has anyone ever used the word to describe that scene on the airplane on Nov. 22, 1963, with LBJ taking the oath of office with Jacqueline Kennedy standing next to him with her late husband’s blood on her clothes.

[Mark Regan]

It's Tom Clark, not Tom Clarke.

[Dan Schiavetta]

We try to correct Josh every time he makes this mistake. He just doesn't care.

[Dilan Esper]

Pretty bad that he makes it right after Clark's kid dies.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Yes.

I voted for Ramsey Clark once (I think he was running in a primary in my state in the 1970’s). You can call him a crackpot, but being a crackpot is a lot more profitable if you’re on the right, not the left.

[Dan Schiavetta]

P.S. As to Tom Clark, who was first seen as one of Truman’s hayseed buddies, he is a good example of someone who grew in depth and perception after he got on the Court. We’ve seen a number of examples since, particularly Anthony Kennedy.

[Bob from Ohio]

"You can call him a crackpot,"

Yes, at least.

"represented declared foes of the United States including former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. He also defended former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. " ..."Palestine Liberation Organization in a lawsuit over the slaying of a cruise ship passenger by hijackers. "
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ramsey-clark-dies-age-93/

Other words come to mind.

[Dilan Esper]

So he represented, as a defense lawyer, unpopular organizations.

I took a lot of crap from liberals for chastising them when they were attacking lawyers for representing unpopular clients (including those who represented Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, and the January 6 instigators, as well as Neal Katyal for representing the defendant in a Section 1350 suit). I am consistent on this. Everyone is entitled to retain legal representation. It is not dishonorable to represent bad people- certain tactics can be dishonorable, but not the act of representation.

Ramsey Clark took on unpopular clients, who did very bad things, and defended them. That's entirely consistent with the ideals of the profession and any notion of due process.

[Dan Schiavetta]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiCEyuIuwAU

[Dilan Esper]

What a great actor Giamatti is.

WNNNNNNNNNNBC, "I am not drinking any f***ing merlot!", and John Adams.

And yes, that's a wonderful historical example.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Yes -- we're just skating past the usual commenters here.

"John Adams" was a surprise because I mostly remembered Giamatti (fondly) from "Big Fat Liar". What range that actor has.

[Bob from Ohio]

"unpopular organizations"

Terrorists, War criminals.

The NRA and Planned Parenthood are "unpopular organizations". The murderers of Leon Klinghoffer are not the same.

Sorry you cannot see the difference.

[Dilan Esper]

Wow, "sorry you cannot see the difference". I'm thinking about the intellectual smugness it took for you to write that. Surely you understand that I am not an idiot. That I have accomplished a fair amount in a field that requires a certain amount of intellect. And yet you condescend to me like a 3 year old.

Bob, lawyers represented Timothy McVeigh, who killed over 100 people in Oklahoma City. Since you mention Planned Parenthood, lawyers represented Eric Rudolph, who bombed abortion clinics as well as the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Lawyers even represented the 9/11 terrorists.

One reason people become unpopular is that they commit great crimes. But the reason lawyers get condemned is because the clients are unpopular. Lawyers who represented completely innocent Black people in the South, back in the day, got condemned too. Guilt is one reason a client can be unpopular, not the only one.

And one last thing. It's fascinating to me that you say Planned Parenthood is just an "unpopular organization". Don't the pro-life groups see them as essentially mass murderers? And yet you think they are just an unpopular organization like the NRA, that it is perfectly reputable to represent.

Your argument does not even make sense on its own terms. Remove the log from your eye before worrying about any motes in mine.

[Bob from Ohio]

"Lawyers who represented completely innocent Black people in the South, back in the day, got condemned too."

Not the same as voluntarily representing murderous foreign organizations and people.

You are comparing apples and watermelons.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Bob from Ohio gets extra points in conservative circles for working watermelon into a comment about Blacks with plausible deniability.

[Dilan Esper]

You continue to miss the point.

There's nothing at all unethical or improper about representing unpopular people accused of bad things- including guilty people.

[Bob from Ohio]

"You continue to miss the point."

No, I understand the point. Its not against the rules of the profession ["ethics"] and might not usually be "improper" if we are talking about normal criminal or civil cases.

But Clarke was eager for such clients. He sought them so he could stick it to the US and others.

A loathsome man.

[Dilan Esper]

Who cares why he did it?

A lot of people represent very guilty defendants or big polluters or whatever for big money. Why is having an ideological motive any more disreputable than that?

[Bob from Ohio]

"Who cares why he did it?"

You admit above that lawyers get criticized all the time for normal representation for money. Volunteering to represent war criminals is much, much worse.

[Dilan Esper]

No Bob, it isn't. It takes more guts than you will ever have, typing behind a pseudonym on a keyboard.

[Alpheus W Drinkwater]

Reading through this particular exchange was a little like watching my dog bark at the TV.

[Bob from Ohio]

"Pretty bad that he makes it right after Clark’s kid dies."

OMG, he didn't change a timed post to react to some obscure weekend event The horror.

[Dilan Esper]

This family was in the news, making the proper spelling more prominent. Yet he still makes the error.

[Bob from Ohio]

He timed it before the weekend I'd bet. Heck, the whole year may be timed.

[Dilan Esper]

I will concede that's a reasonable inference.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

A Noble Prize for achievement in identifying error in Today In Supreme Court History is awarded to Mark Regan.