February 14 1955 PDF Download

Admired by conservatives and deeply respected by his liberal brethren, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan was a man, as William Brennan lamented, whose "massive scholarship" has never been fully recognized. Now, in the first biography of this important but neglected jurist, Tinsley Yarbrough provides a detailed account of Harlan's life, from his privileged childhood to his retirement and death. Yarbrough examines the forces and events which shaped the Justice's jurisprudence--his early life and often complex family relationships, his education, his work as a prosecutor during the Prohibition, and years as one of the nation's preeminent corporate lawyers. The book focuses, however, on Harlan's years on the high bench. Coming at a time when the Supreme Court has begun to adopt many of Harlan's principles, this account provides an essential perspective on the Court, civil liberties, and a pivotal figure in the history of both.