On Kansas’ Argument in Brown v. Board of Education
When Justice Souter introduced speakers in the Courtroom at Society programs he infused his remarks with his dry wit, erudition, and love of history. Souter’s introduction of Paul Wilson, who spoke about representing Kansas on the losing side of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), particularly merits rewatching as it captures the late Justice at his best.
Supreme Court Architecture
Justice Souter’s warmth was on display when he introduced his old Harvard Law School classmate Paul Bayard, who left the law to become a professor of architecture at Columbia University and an expert on Cass Gilbert, the architect of the Supreme Court Building.
Griswold Prize Book Winner
Justice Souter’s wit and self-deprecation shine in his introduction of Professor Edward Purcell, winner of the Society’s Erwin N. Griswold Prize for his book, Brandeis and the Progressive Constitution: Erie, the Judicial Power, and the Politics of the Federal Courts in Twentieth-Century America.