Winter 2011 Issue of the Society's E-Journal
Spotlights Court, TSCHS History
The second issue of the quarterly Journal of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society was published during the holidays. Members received their copy through a new email delivery system that offered great flexibility of design and distribution.
The e-Journal was inaugurated last fall to provide TSCHS members with news, feature articles on the history of the court, and a forum for recognizing member contributions and honors. Led by Board President Lynne Liberato and Executive Editor David A, Furlow, the e-Journal team also includes Ruth E. Piller, Coeditor (fall issue); Dylan Drummond, Deputy Executive Editor; Bill Pugsley, Assistant Editor; Marilyn Duncan, Consulting Editor; and David Kroll, Production Manager.
CONTENTS, WINTER ISSUE (download pdf below):
* Lead Article: "The Continuing Influence of Castilian Law on
Texas and the Texas Supreme Court, Pt. 1,"
by David A. Furlow
*President's Page: "On Making History," by Lynne Liberato
*Executive Director's Page: "Looking Forward: The Mission of the
Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, Pt. 2," by Bill Pugsley
* News: "Judge Pope Pens Book"; "Society Honors Judge Greenhill at 2012 TSHA Meeting"; TCLE Makes Donation to Pope Book Project": "Narrative History Book Accepted by UT Press": "Twitter Image Has History"; "Board Welcomes Justice Green at Fall Meeting."
*Recognition: New Members, 2011; Board of Trustees
Download pdf: TSCHS_JournalWinter2011
Fall 2011 issue: TSCHS_JournalFall2011
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TSCHS Board of Trustees Fall Meeting
Members of the Society's Board of Trustees and other attendees gathered
atter the October 12 biannual meeting in Austin for a group photo.
Pictured are (front row, l-r) Judge Jack Pope, Justice Paul W.Green,
President Lynne Liberato, President-elect Warren Harris, Trustee Chrys Dougherty; (middle row, l-r) TSCHS staff Mary Sue Miller,Trustee Peter Kelly,Treasurer Andrew Weber, Trustee Steve McConnico, Trustee Bill Chriss,Vice President Shawn Stephens, Trustee Richard Pena, TSCHS staff Marilyn Duncan; (back row, l-r) Executive Director Bill Pugsley, Trustee David Furlow, Trustee Larry McNeill,
Judge Jeff Brown, Trustee Rob Gilbreath,Trustee David Johnson, Trustee Frank Newton, Secretary Doug Alexander, Osler McCarthy, Trustee Keith Calcote,
Trustee Randy Sorrels. Judge Craig Enoch was present but is not pictured.
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IN MEMORIAM
Judge William L. Garwood , 1931-2011
TSCHS Board chair Judge Will Garwood died July14 in an Austin hospital from complications related to a heart attack. At the time of his death, Garwood was senior judge on the Fifth Circuit U.S.Court of Appeals, having served on that bench since his appointment by President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Judge Garwood also served on the Texas Supreme Court in 1979-1980 when Governor Bill Clements appointed him to that seat, making him the first Republican to serve on the Texas high court since Reconstruction, He was also the first and only second-generation member of the Supreme Court --his father, Justice Wilmer St. John Garwood, served on the Court from 1948 to 1958.
A charter member of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, Judge Garwood was elected to the Board of Trustees in October 2001 and was then appointed to the Nominations Committee the following year. He became the co-chair of that committee in 2008, serving in that capacity until 2010. He was elected to succeed Judge Jack Pope as Chair of the Board in October 2010.
Society Executive Director Bill Pugsley noted that one of Judge Garwood’s greatest contributions was in his support for the History Book Project.
“He was instrumental both in launching the project with seed money in 1998 and in insisting on tangible progress as the project unfolded,” said Pugsley. “Last week we submitted the manuscript for review to UT Press. We couldn't have done that without Judge Garwood."
A memorial fund has been established in Judge Garwood’s honor. For
information on making a donation, contact Bill Pugsley at tschs@sbcglobal.net or 512/481-1840.
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16th Annual John Hemphill Dinner Held June 3
Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh was the principal speaker at this year’s John Hemphill Dinner sponsored by the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society. The event was held June 3 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.
The dinner also featured a presentation of the third annual Chief Justice Jack Pope Profesisional Award by the Texas Center for Legal Ethics. This year's recipients were Federal Judge Will Garwood and Austin attorney Bill Hilgers.
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Memorials to Judge Joe R. Greenhill
---In Memoriam: Judge Joe R. Greenhill, 1914-2011---
Chief Justice Joe R. Greenhill (ret.), a founding member of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, died Friday, February 11, in Austin at the age of 96. Judge Greenhill served on the Supreme Court of Texas from 1957 to 1982, the last ten years as Chief Justice. His 25-year tenure on the Court is the longest in Texas history.
A native of Houston, Judge Greenhill earned B.A., B.B.A., and LL.B. degrees from the University of Texas, each with highest honors. His association with the Texas Supreme Court began in 1941 when he was appointed to a newly created position as briefing attorney for Chief Justice James Alexander and Justice John Sharp. At the outbreak of World War II he left the prestigious clerkship and enlisted in the Navy, serving first in Naval intelligence and then as executive officer of a mine-sweeping operation on the Pacific front.
After the war, Greenhill returned to his position at the Supreme Court, which during his absence had changed from a three-man to a nine-man court. In 1948 he became the first person to serve as Assistant Attorney General of Texas. In that capacity he and Attorney General Price Daniel represented the state in Sweatt v. Painter, a landmark desegregation case, before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1950 Greenhill went into private practice as a founding partner of Graves,
Dougherty & Greenhill in Austin. He was drawn back into public service in 1957 when Governor Price Daniel appointed him to the Texas Supreme Court to replace Justice Few Brewster, who had resigned due to ill health. A year later Justice Greenhill won his bid to retain his seat on the Court after a hard-fought campaign against Judge Sarah T. Hughes. He ran unopposed in 1964 and 1970, and was appointed Chief Justice in 1972 by Governor Preston Smith, replacing the retiring Chief Justice Robert W. Calvert.
During his tenure as Chief Justice he played a key role in winning passage of a Texas constitutional amendment to give the court of civil appeals criminal jurisdiction and thus to alleviate the backlog of cases for the Court of Criminal Appeals. Beginning in the 1980s, he worked to change restrictive Texas laws that discouraged the use of arbitration and mediation in lieu of litigation. Thanks to these efforts, many low-income people were guaranteed access to the legal system, and the case backlog in Texas courts was significantly reduced.
Upon his retirement from the Texas Supreme Court in 1982, Judge Greenhill joined the Austin law firm of Baker Botts. He also continued to be active in a number of professional organizations, serving as President of the Board of Directors for the National Center for State Courts; President of the Conference of Chief Justices; Vice-Chairman of the Texas Criminal Justice Division Advisory Board; Executive Director of the Texas Bar Foundation; and Chairman of the Judicial Section of the Texas State Bar and the Bar's Section on Natural Resources.
In 1990, Judge Greenhill, together with former Chief Justices Robert Calvert and Jack Pope, filed the incorporation papers to establish the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society. He served as the organization’s second president and its third chair, a position he held until March 2010, when he was awarded chair emeritus status by the Board of Trustees.
Judge Greenhill received numerous honors and awards during his long career, including, most recently, election to the Warren Burger Society by the National Center for State Courts and the 2007 Professionalism Award from the American Inns of Court.
He is survived by his wife of seven decades, Martha; two sons, Joe R. Greenhill Jr. and Bill Greenhill; four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
A memorial service was held February 15 at St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin, with interment in the Texas State Cemetary.
*****JUDGE JOE R. GREENHILL MEMORIAL FUND *****
A memorial fund in honor of Judge Greenhill has been established by the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society. Contributions may be made by sending a check or money order to the Society at P.O. Box 12673, Austin, TX 78711. Contributions are fully tax-deductible. For more information email the Executive Director at tschs@sbcglobal.net or call 512/481-1840.
*****STORIES ABOUT JUDGE GREENHILL*****
The Joe Greenhill Story, by Jim Cullen, TSCHS Staff Writer
Judge Joe Greenhill's War Reminiscences, by Jim Cullen
LINKS:
Supreme Court of Texas Advisory on Judge Joe R. Greenhill
Judge Greenhill Photos
Austin American-Statesman Announcement
Austin American Statesman Obituary
Texas State Cemetery Obituary
Past Events of Interest
Friday, October 22, 2010
Inaugural Symposium: Current Ethical Dilemmas Grounded in History
South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas
3 hrs. CLE credit in ethics, approved by the State Bar
Friday, June 4, 2010
Former Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips Spoke at 2010 Hemphill Dinner
Judge Thomas R. Phillips, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas and partner with Baker Botts LLP in Austin, was the principal speaker at the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society’s Annual Hemphill Dinner on June 4. Judge Phillips’ talk traced the history and politics of judicial election.
Society president Larry McNeill presided over the evening program, which included an introduction of the newest member of the Texas Supreme Court, Justice Eva Guzman, by Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson. Chief JusticeJefferson also recognized the contributions of Justice Harriet O'Neill, who is leaving the Court on June 20, and introduced her replacement, Judge Debra Lehrmann.
The program also included a presentation of the second annual Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award to Judge Tom Reavley. Sponsored by the Texas Center for Legal Ethics , the award recognizes a Texas appellate lawyer or appellate judge who demonstrates the highest level of professionalism and integrity.
In conjunction with the dinner, a portrait dedication ceremony in honor of former Justice Greg Abbott and retired Chief Justice Joe R. Greenhill was held that afternoon. in the Supreme Court Courtroom.
More about the Hemphill Dinner and portrait dedication ceremony will be posted soon.
Past Hemphill Dinner Speakers
UT Press and TSCHS Establish New Book Series
The Texas Supreme Court Historical Society and the University of Texas Press have teamed up to sponsor a new Texas Legal Studies Series, and two books are already in production. The first volume in the series, released in November 2009, is a biography of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark by his daughter, Mimi Clark Gronlund (see description below).
The second book in the series was produced under the auspices of the Society's History Book Project. Titled The Laws of Slavery in Texas, the book was released in late January by the University of Texas Press (see description below).
The Society has commissioned historian James L. Haley to write the third book in the series, a narrative history of the Texas Supreme Court. Haley is author of twelve books, including the award-winning Passionate Nation: The Epic History of Texas, and a highly acclaimed biography of Sam Houston.
The Texas Legal Studies Series is edited by William S. Pugsley, the Society's Executive Director, and Profressor Jason A. Gillmer of the Texas Weslyan University School of Law.
Texas Legal Studies Series, Volume 1
Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark: A Life of Service
By Mimi Clark Gronlund
An associate justice on the renowned Warren Court whose landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education overturned racial segregation in schools and other public facilities, Tom C. Clark was a crusader for justice throughout his long legal career. Among many tributes Clark received, Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger opined that "no man in the past thirty years has contributed more to the improvement of justice than Tom Clark."
Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark is the first biography of this important American jurist. Written by his daughter, Mimi Clark Gronlund, and based on interviews with many of Clark's judicial associates, friends, and family, as well as archival research, it offers a well-rounded portrait of a lawyer and judge who dealt with issues that remain in contention today—civil rights, the rights of the accused, school prayer, and censorship/pornography, among them. Gronlund explores the factors in her father's upbringing and education that helped form his judicial philosophy, then describes how that philosophy shaped his decisions on key issues and cases, including the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the investigation of war fraud, the Truman administration's loyalty program (an anti-communist effort), the Brown decision, Mapp v. Ohio (protections against unreasonable search and seizure), and Abington v. Schempp (which overturned a state law that required reading from the Bible each day in public schools).
The book is available at bookstores and from the University of Texas Press.
Texas Legal Studies Series, Volume 2
The Laws of Slavery in Texas
Edited by Randolph B. Campbell
Compiled by William S. Pugsley and Marilyn P. Duncan
The laws that governed the institution of slavery in early Texas were enacted over a fifty-year period in which Texas moved through incarnations as a Spanish colony, a Mexican state, an independent republic, a part of the United States, and a Confederate state. This unusual legal heritage sets Texas apart from the other slave-holding states and provides a unique opportunity to examine how slave laws were enacted and upheld as political and legal structures changed. The Laws of Slavery in Texas makes that examination possible by combining seminal historical essays with excerpts from key legal documents from the slave period and tying them together with interpretative commentary by the foremost scholar on the subject, Randolph B. Campbell.
Campbell's commentary focuses on an aspect of slave law that was particularly evident in the evolving legal system of early Texas: the dilemma that arose when human beings were treated as property. As Campbell points out, defining slaves as moveable property, or chattel, presented a serious difficulty to those who wrote and interpreted the law because, unlike any other form of property, slaves were sentient beings. They were held responsible for their crimes, and in numerous ways statute and case law dealing with slavery recognized the humanness of the enslaved. Attempts to protect the property rights of slave owners led to increasingly restrictive laws--including laws concerning free blacks--that were difficult to uphold. The documents in this collection reveal both the roots of the dilemma and its inevitable outcome.
The book is available from the University of Texas Press.
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