Jackson, Toni M.

Kim, Helen J.

English

University of Minnesota Law School

Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and PracticeVolume 9 | Issue 3 Article 11991Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.: The Man, TheJurist, the ScholarToni M. JacksonHelen J. KimFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.umn.edu/lawineqLaw & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice is published by theUniversity of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.Recommended CitationToni M. Jackson & Helen J. Kim, Note, Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.: The Man, The Jurist, the Scholar, 9 Law & Ineq. iii (1991).Available at: http://scholarship.law.umn.edu/lawineq/vol9/iss3/1Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.:The Man, the Jurist, the ScholarToni M. Jackson* and Helen J. Kin**On January 31, 1991, Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., tooksenior status on the United States Court of Appeals for the ThirdCircuit. Judge Higginbotham began his distinguished career onthe bench in 1964 when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointedhim to the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.In 1977, Judge Higginbotham was elevated to the Third Circuit andbecame Chief Judge in 1990. In this career, which spans twenty-seven years to date, Judge Higginbotham has become renown forhis legal insight, compassion, empathy, and ability to champion hiscauses while respecting the bounds of precedent and judicialimpartiality.In addition, Judge Higginbotham has earned a distinctiveplace in the legal community as a scholar, teacher, and lecturer,holding over fifty honorary degrees from various colleges and uni-versities, numerous awards, and other honors. He has publishedarticles in legal journals throughout the country as well as a note-worthy book, In the Matter of Color: Race and the American LegalProcess. Judge Higginbotham's forthcoming book, Shades of Free-dom, promises to equal the scholarship and success of his firstbook.Judge Higginbotham attributes his decision to enter the legalprofession to an experience he had as a sixteen-year-old freshmanat Purdue University.' He went to the office of Purdue UniversityPresident Edward Charles Elliot to ask him if anything could bedone to improve the uninhabitable accommodations that he andhis fellow black students were given. President Elliot replied,"Higginbotham, the law doesn't require us to let colored studentsin the dorm, and you either accept things as they are or leave theUniversity immediately." 2* J.D., University of Minnesota; B.B.A., George Washington; University.** J.D., University of Minnesota.1. A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., The Dream With its Back Against the Wall,Yale L. Rep., Spring 1990, at 36.2. A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., In the Matter of Color: Race and the AmericanLegal Process viii (1978)Law and InequalityJudge Higginbotham's experience at Purdue left an indeliblemark both in his brain and in his heart. President Elliot's coldwords prompted the young Higginbotham to take the path thatwould lead him to challenge a legal system that permitted PurdueUniversity to house twelve young men in an unheated attic, simplybecause of the color of their skin. Not only did Judge Higginbot-ham succeed in challenging the legal system, he has challenged allthose in and out of the legal community to achieve a heightenedawareness of how the "Law" can be used to oppress those not inpower.Judge Higginbotham understands how the legal process canbe perverted and diverted to ignore (or create) the problems facedby minorities and women in the United States. For more thanfour decades, Judge Higginbotham has used his life experiencesand his learned legal talent to "remember those who are bound as[if] bound with them."3 Judge Higginbotham's unwavering com-mitment to "do the right thing" makes him an inspiration for usall. We are honored to pay him tribute.PUBLICATIONS of A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.December 30, 1990De Jure Residential Segregation in the U.S. and South Africa: TheDifficult Pursuit for Racial Justice, 4 Illinois Law Review 763(1990) (with F. Michael Higginbotham and S. Sandile Ngcobo)"Rather than Free": Free Blacks in Colonial and Antebellum Vir-ginia, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Review, (date to beannounced). (with G. Bosworth)Racism in American and South African Courts: Similarities andDifferences, 65 New York University Law Review 479 (June,1990).Federal Jurisdiction: The Essential Guarantor of Human Rights, inThe Federal Appellate Judiciary in the Twenty-First Century(Cynthia Harrison and Russell R. Wheeler eds., 1989), pp. 57-67.Racial Justice and the Priorities of American Leadership, in SocialClass and Democratic Leadership: Essays in Honor of E. DigbyBaltzell (Harold J. Bershady ed., 1989) 276-293 (with L.Farmelo).3. A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., Lawyers, Values, and Commitment, 2 En Banc6 (1980).[Vol. 9:viiJUDGE A. LEON HIGGINBOTHAM, JR.Racial Purity and Interracial Sex in the Law of Colonial and Ante-bellum Virginia, 77 Geo. L.J. 1967 (1989) (with B. Kopytoff).Property First, Humanity Second: The Recognition of the Slave'sHuman Nature in Virginia Civil Law, 50 Ohio St. L.J. 511(1989) (with B. Kopytoff).Race, Sex, Education and Missouri Jurisprudence: Shelley v. Krae-mer in a Historical Perspective, 67 Wash. U. L.Q. 673 (1989).The Life of the Law: Values, Commitment, and Craftsmanship,(Essays Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of theHarvard Law Review), 100 Harvard Law Review, No. 4, 795(February, 1987).The Bicentennial of the Constitution: A Racial Perspective, 22Stanford Lawyer, No. 1, pp. 8(8), September 22, 1987.The Pursuit for Racial Justice in Housing: The United States andSouth African Challenges to an Equalitarian Legal Order, (un-published manuscript on file at Harvard Law School Library),1986.The Persistent Struggle: From Racial Injustice to Human Rightsfor All - The American View. (The Pennsylvania-Ibadan Ex-change Lecture) March 1985.The Roots of Separate and Unequal: The Virginia and West Vir-ginia Heritage - 17th to 20th Century. In: Brown v. Board ofEducation of Topeka: An Assessment Thirty Years Later (In-stitute, West Virginia, February 10-11 and April 11-13, 1984).International Human Rights: Causes of Action in Domestic Courts.(Transcript of Proceedings of the Eleventh Mid-Year Congress1984 of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association atFreeport, Bahama Islands on the Theme "The Utilization ofInternational Law Standards and Their Implications for Do-mestic Jurisprudence"), Southern University Law Review 125(with Glen Johnson and Gay McDougal).The Legitimization of Racism. (The W.E.B. DuBois Lectures,1984) Series of five lectures delivered at the W.E.B. DuBoisInstitute, Harvard University, April and November, 1984. Tobe published by Harvard University Press.Lectures One, Two and Three: "The Legitimization of Ra-cism in Virginia."Lectures Four and Five: "States' Rights and States' Wrongs:Apartheid, Virginia and South Africa Style""Race, Values and the American Legal Process," (J.I.C. Taylor1991]Law and Inequality [Vol. 9:viiMemorial Lectures, 1984). Delivered at the Faculty of Law,University of Lagos, Nigeria.C. Clyde Ferguson, Jr. - An Irreplaceable Scholar and Friend, 97Harvard Law Review (1984).West Virginia's Racial Heritage: Not Always Free, 86 West Vir-ginia Law Review (1983).Foreword to Genna Rae McNeil, Groundwork: Charles HamiltonHouston and the Struggle for Civil Rights. (Philadelphia:Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1983).Foreword to Geraldine R. Wegal, Blacks in the Law: Philadelphiaand the Nation.The Summit of Black Lawyers in America: New Goals for theNext Decade. NBA (National Bar Assoc. Magazine, Vol. 1,No. 1 (Summer, 1983)).Race, Values and Priorities, 3 Journal of Public and InternationalAffairs (1983).Judge William Henry Hastie - One Who Changed the Immutable,(Annual Judge William Henry Hastie Lecture), reprinted in24 Howard Law Journal (1981).In Honor of James 0. Freedman, reprinted from 130 University ofPennsylvania Law Review (1981).Bernard G. Segal, 129 University of Pennsylvania Law Review(1981).Forward to "Roles .of the Black Lawyer: A Symposium," BlackLaw Journal 7 (1981).Racial Justice and the Founding Fathers: A Moral Duality? (Her-bert H. Lehman Memorial Lecture), City University of NewYork, March 27, 1981.Lawyers, Values and Commitment, En Banc December 1980.I Probably Would Have Been a Slave . . ., (President's Lecture)University of Pennsylvania, reprinted in Almanac, November29, 1979.Is Slavery Relevant to Corrections Today?, Corrections Today 41(1979).The Relevance of Slavery: Race and the American Legal Process,Notre Dame Lawyer 54 (1978).Louis H. Pollak, 127 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 297.Presently writing two books: Race and the American LegalJUDGE A. LEON HIGGINBOTHAM, JR.Process, an analysis of the use of the law to perpetuate anderadicate racial injustice and Documents on Race and theAmerican Legal Process, an anthology.In the Matter of Color: Race and the American Legal Process - TheColonial Period, New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.Race in American Law, (paper presented at the Bicentennial Con-ference sponsored by New York Univer. School of Law, April27, 1976, republished in Schwartz, American Law: The ThirdCentury, The Law Bicentennial Volume, New York Univer-sity Law School (Rothman, 1976).The Priority of Human Rights in Court Reform, (paper presentedat the National Conference on the Causes of Popular Dissatis-faction with the Administration of Justice, sponsored by theJudicial Conference of the U.S., Conference of Chief Justices,American Bar Association, St. Paul, MN, April 8, 1976). Re-printed in 70 Fed. Rules Decisions and The Judge's Journal, aQuarterly of the Judicial Administration Div., Vol. 15, 1976.From Racism to Affirmative Action - Will Universities Span theGap?, 4 Black Law Journal (1975).Cobblestones or Diamonds? (speech upon presentation of Yale Ci-tation of Merit) October 18, 1975, reprinted in Yale Law Re-port, Winter 1975-76.The Impact of the Declaration of Independence?, Crisis Magazine,Winter, 1975.To the Scale and Standing of Men, 60 The Journal of Negro His-tory, (1975).Civil Rights Litigation in the Federal Courts: The Constitutionaland Statutory Prerequisites, (paper presented at RegionalMeeting of Judicial Council of National Bar Assoc.) Philadel-phia, PA, April 5, 1975.Race, Racism, and American Law, 122 University of PennsylvaniaLaw Review (1974).Racism and the Early American Legal Process, 1619-1896, in TheAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sci-ence, May, 1973.Now is the Hour, address to Fellowship Commission, BrotherhoodWeek, 1973.So Many Deeds Cry Out to be Done, American College TestingProgram, Monograph Nine: College/Career Choice: Right Stu-1991]Law and Inequalitydent, Right Time, Right Place, Proce of the 1972 ACTInvitational Conference, Iowa City, Iou Lay, 1972.Can We Avoid Riots in Prison if We Fail to Eradicate Racism onthe Outside?, The Institute of Contemporary Corrections inthe Behavioral Sciences, Sam Houston State University (1972).Racism and the American Legal Process: Many Deeds Cry Out tobe Done, Progress in Africa and America, Scholars andStatesmen Lecture Series, Number Three, Dillard University,New Orleans, La., 1971-72.Channel Change through Law - Reason, (Law Day BanquetSpeech), Texas Southern University Law Review 2 (1971).A Dream Deferred, (Speech to 18th Annual National Institute onCrime and Delinquency, Philadelphia, June 1971), reprinted inCrime and Delinquency, January, 1972.Effective Use of Modern Technology, Justice in the States, editedby William F. Swindler, St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1971.The Black Prisoner, America's Caged Canary, in Violence: A Crisisof American Confidence, edited by Hugh Davis Graham(1971).As If I Bound With Them, The Hourglass, Center for InterfaithStudies (Fall edition), Number 12, Volume 4, 1971, LincolnUniversity.What Kind of Vaccine?, 143 American Journal of Pharmacy, May-June, 1971.From Presidential Fact Finding Commissions to Justice for Blacks- Can We Bridge the Gap?, The Pursuit of a Culture andHuman Dignity, Scholars/Statesmen Lecture Series, NumberTwo, 1970-71, Dillard University, New Orleans, La.From the Outside Looking In: Is Yesterday's Racism Relevant toToday's Corrections?, Outside Looking in, Law EnforcementAssistance Administration, April 1, 1970, Washington, D.C.Law Enforcement and Justice, National Urban Problems, ed. byYoshpe and Burdette, Industrial College of the Armed Forces,Washington, D.C., February, 1970.William C. Menninger Memorial Lecture/II, Delivered at theSpring Members Meeting, The Menninger Foundation, To-peka, KS, May, 1969.Luncheon Address - Meeting of ABA Antitrust Section, August 5,1968. Antitrust Law Journal 37 (1968): 748-758.[Vol. 9:v'iJUDGE A. LEON HIGGINBOTHAM, JRTrial Backlog and Computer Analysis, 40 Federal Rules Decisions104 (1968).Dream of Freedom, 13 Journal of Human Relations (1965).Defense Argument in Support of Probation in a Different andHighly Publicized Morals Case, Trial Lawyers Guide, Calla-han & Co., February, 1963, pp. 67-78.From Riot Study Commissions to Justice in the Ghetto - Will WeBridge the Gap?, in Social Unrest, Crime & Delinquency, Uni-versity of Maryland, College Park, MD, Center of AdultEducation.Contributor as a Commissioner to the following publications:White House Conference - "To Fulfill These Rights"Final Draft - Federal Criminal Code - Commission onReform of Federal Criminal LawsFinal Report - Commission on the Causes and Preven-tion of Violence, "To Establish Justice, To Insure Do-mestic Tranquillity"Final Report - Commission to Consider Standards forAdmission to Practice in the Federal Courts to the Judi-cial Conference of the United States, reprinted 83 F.R.D.1979, West Publishing Co.1991]

Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.: The Man, The Jurist, the Scholar

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Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.: The Man, The Jurist, the Scholar

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