Whittaker, Charles E.

English

University of Minnesota Law School

University of Minnesota Law SchoolScholarship RepositoryMinnesota Law Review1960A Tribute to Judge John B. SanbornCharles E. WhittakerFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlrPart of the Law CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Minnesota Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Minnesota LawReview collection by an authorized administrator of the Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact lenzx009@umn.edu.Recommended CitationWhittaker, Charles E., "A Tribute to Judge John B. Sanborn" (1960). Minnesota Law Review. 1029.https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/1029A Tribute to Judge John B. SanbornCharles E. Whittaker*The thirtieth day of last June witnessed the closing of anotherchapter in the illustrious history of the United States Court of Ap-peals for the Eighth Circuit, for on that day one of its most distin-guished judges, John B. Sanborn of Minnesota, retired from itsactive bench.Perhaps we should have expected the announcement, as JudgeSanborn was in his seventy-fifth year, had rendered more thanthirty-five years of devoted and distinguished judicial service, ofwhich more than twenty-seven were upon the bench of the EighthCircuit, and had thus earned both the leisure and the license toreturn to the pursuit of his well-known love, to hunt and fish at willin the beautiful Minnesota woods and waters surrounding thescenes of his boyhood, particularly along the St. Croix, where hemaintains his summer home. Yet, momentarily at least, it startledus; for his long and lustrous service on that court had fixed himin our mind as so much of its warp and woof that when thinkingof the one we thought also of the other, and subconsciously re-garded both as permanently enduring.When full realization of the fact and effects of the announcementsunk home, we felt mixed emotions. One was of gladness for hissake, for we know that, if it is ever to be done, man must satisfythe longings of his heart today, as tomorrow will never come; an-other was an acute sense of public loss; but the dominant emotionfelt was the one expressed by Longfellow in The Day Is Done:"A feeling of sadness and longing,That is not akin to pain,And resembles sorrow onlyAs the mist resembles the rain."Then came meditations upon a valued friendship of many years,rendered precious by our most companionable relations as col-leagues on the Eighth Circuit, which brought into view on themirror of memories the variety of virtues of John Sanborn thathave made him what he is -one of the finest gentlemen of our* Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States.MINNESOTA LAW REVIEWacquaintance, and a judge equal to any of the great who havegraced the bench of the Eighth Circuit, which include his brilliantcousin, Walter H. Sanborn, the illustrious Stone, the scholarlyVan Valkenberg, the keen Kenyon, the redoubtable Riddick, andthe conciliatory Collett, to mention but a few and to speak onlyof the dead.Our attempts to single from the quantity of his qualities thosemost responsible for his stature have been only partially reward-ing, for all have played their part; yet, we think there are two thathave greatly influenced, if they have not dominated, all the others.To say that John Sanborn is a quiet and kind man of culture whohas unwaveringly practiced the principles of honor, truth, integrityand fairness is but to recount the most obvious of his virtues. Normay explanation of his stature be completed by acknowledging thegreat depth of his wisdom, the keenness of his analytical and in-quiring mind, the soundness of his judgment and his mastery ofthe law, or even by recognizing, in addition, his constant quest fortruth and, when found, his fearless declaration of it whether popu-lar or not. For any true appraisal of Judge Sanbom's stature mustinclude two other qualities -humbleness and simplicity-evenif they only blended with and added luster to those mentionedheretofore.These traits of humbleness and simplicity inhere in the verynature of John Sanborn and have been reflected in his every actand deed. But neither his unassuming modesty nor his plain andunsophisticated ways could ever be thought of as submissive, meekor fearful, for all who have dealt with him have fully recognizedthe depth of his convictions, his stout adherence to them, and that,in his judicial work, he has feared but one thing-that in a mo-ment of abstraction, or of human weakness, he might commit someerror and thus wield judicial power to the serious prejudice of afellowman. His disdain of display, particularly of erudition, hasnot only been slyly articulated but is subtly evident in nearly allof his opinions. They are found throughout Volumes 55 to 269 ofthe Second Series of the Federal Reporter, and any examinationof them will disclose their clarity and conciseness and that suchis largely due to their simple words and structure. Surely theseworks of Judge Sanborn prove the wisdom of Emerson's words that"Nothing is more simple than greatness. Indeed to be simple is tobe great."Judge Sanborn has still another quality that should not escapeattention. He has always rather strictly adhered to the tried andtrue standards of value in forming his judgments. He has not be-lieved that the things which are time-honored are otherwise dis-[Vol. 44:197JOHN B. SANBORNhonored. He has not believed in change for the sake of changealone. Nor has he thought it to be the business of the courts toarouse the conscious of the people or seek to cause them to altertheir institutions. Rather, he has thought it to be his duty to ob-serve the rule of stare decisis, to respect the legislative processes,and rigidly to follow and enforce the law whether he thought itto be wise or not.Though his retirement does not mean that his judicial servicehas ended, as he still remains a Senior Circuit Judge, yet hereafterhis labors need be rendered only at will. Surely he must derivegreat satisfaction from his reflections, and no less from his antici-pations, for henceforth, in the words of Whittier, there need be:"No doubtful balance of rights and wrongs,No weary lawyers with endless tongue;But low of cattle and song of birds,And health, and quiet, and loving words."To this stalwart but humble and simple man, judge and friend,we extend a fond salute.1959]

A Tribute to Judge John B. Sanborn

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A Tribute to Judge John B. Sanborn

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