Belknap, Michal R.

Benner,, Laurence A., Introduction

English

California Western School of Law

EARL WARREN PROFESSORSHIPtMICHAL R. BELKNAPINTRODUCTION BY LAURENCE A. BENNER*Chief Justice Earl Warren would be pleased that a chair bearinghis name is being given to someone who has dedicated his life to thestudy of the Supreme Court and its protection of civil liberties.Certainly no one is more deserving of this honor than Michal Belknap,who is not only a preeminent legal scholar, but also one of the mostprominent legal historians of our time.Professor Grant Gilmore, a renowned professor at both YaleUniversity and the University of Chicago law schools, once said thatthe law "at any one time or place is an unstable mass, in precariousequilibrium." Gilmore therefore believed that the study of legalhistory was one of the most important functions of legal educationbecause it helped lawyers, judges, and legislators gain the wisdomnecessary to prepare for the future. Professor Gilmore did not assertthat the historian could predict the future, but rather that the historianshowed us the possibilities for the future, and thus taught us how todiscern the new directions and paths the law might travel. In order tofulfill this noble role as the collective consciousness and facilitator ofwisdom, the legal historian must therefore have integrity, intelligence,and the ability to inspire. Michal Belknap has, in extraordinaryabundance, all three of these attributes.Integrity can indeed be said to be a hallmark of Michal Belknap'swork over the past thirty years. His books on the civil rights era havetransformed our understanding of the interaction between thePresident, the Supreme Court, and Congress. In Federal Law andt Accepted by Michal R. Belknap on December 13, 2007, at California WesternSchool of Law.* Professor of Law, California Western School of Law.1Belknap and Benner,: Earl Warren Professorship: Michal R. BelknapPublished by CWSL Scholarly Commons, 2009364 CALIFORNIA WESTERN INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 39Southern Order,1 the second of his eight published books, heexamined the federal government's response to the racial violencewhich followed the desegregation decision in Brown v. Board ofEducation.2 In an impressive assault upon the citadels of myth andfallacy, Professor Belknap uncovered the truth without regard towhose hero might be tarnished-whether it be the famous SouthernSenator Sam Irvin, President Eisenhower, or President Kennedy.Respect for the integrity of his research has also been recognized bythe Supreme Court Historical Society, which honored him with thecoveted Hughes-Gossett Award for Historical Excellence. Indeed, heis held in such high esteem that this august body requested he speak tothem on the history of military commissions-an occasion that wasattended by several Supreme Court Justices. Professor Belknap'sresearch, which revealed the dangers presented by the use of militarycommissions, was highly relevant to cases involving the GuantanamoBay detainees which were then working their way toward the SupremeCourt's docket in Boumediene v. Bush.3 We at California WesternSchool of Law are therefore very fortunate to have on our faculty anationally recognized expert on issues of such vital importance to therule of law.Professor Belknap's extraordinary intellect is shown in thebreadth of his scholarship. His eight books touch such disparatesubjects as the Smith Act prosecution of communists in the 1950s, thehistory of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the Vietnam War, the court-martial of Lieutenant Calley, and the history of the AmericanJudicature Society. He has also written two books which focusdirectly on the Supreme Court's jurisprudence; one details the historyof the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Vinson, and, appropriately,his most recent book addresses the legacy of the Warren Court.His books have received high praise from the academiccommunity. To take just one example, The Vietnam War on Trial isdescribed by one commentator as:A wise, discerning and powerful account of a notable trial thatilluminates the larger meaning of the Vietnam War. Belknap's1. MICHAL R. BELKNAP, FEDERAL LAW AND SOUTHERN ORDER (1995).2. Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483 (1954).3. Boumediene v. Bush, 128 S. Ct. 2229 (2008).2California Western International Law Journal, Vol. 39, No. 2 [2009], Art. 6https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwilj/vol39/iss2/6EARL WARREN PROFESSORSHIPextraordinary analysis of the My Lai story skillfully explores theatrocities, the cover-up, and the political manipulation of the affair,and takes us beyond contemporary journalism to the complexhistory of what happened-and why.4In addition to these impressive achievements, Professor Belknaphas also been an enormously prolific writer in other venues as well,publishing over fifty law review, historical journal, and encyclopediaarticles; over sixty book reviews; and over fifty scholarly papers,essays, book chapters, and comments.Finally, Michal Belknap is not only a true scholar of the highestcaliber, he is also an inspiring teacher both here at California Westernand at the University of California San Diego, where he is an adjunctprofessor of history. There is a synergy between research and teachingthat brings vibrancy and a genuine reality to Professor Belknap'sclassroom. I have had the opportunity to observe first hand the crystalclarity of his wit and the delightfully entertaining style in which heengages in dialogue with his students. He has a brilliant, penetrating,and incisive mind and is a first-rate teacher. He is also a greatcolleague and mentor to all of us in the academic community. Hisachievements stand as a beacon of light pointing the way, and we lookforward to reading more of his inspiring scholarship in the yearsahead.4. MICHAL R. BELKNAP, THE VIETNAM WAR ON TRIAL (2000), reviewed byStanley Kutler, available at http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/belvie.html.2009]3Belknap and Benner,: Earl Warren Professorship: Michal R. BelknapPublished by CWSL Scholarly Commons, 2009EARL WARREN PROFESSORSHIPACCEPTANCE BY MICHAL R. BELKNAP*Thank you, Larry [Benner]. I am honored by what you have saidabout me. I am far more honored to be named as the first holder ofCalifornia Western School of Law's Earl Warren Chair.I cannot think of any greater accolade than to be linked in thisway with the late Chief Justice of the United States. One invited guestwho could not be here this evening, an economist and chairedprofessor at the Georgetown business school, Richard James Sweeny,reminded me that it has been almost forty-three years since wecollected our bachelors' degrees from the University of California LosAngeles and marched off along somewhat different paths, bothcommitted to becoming scholars.Forty-three years ago, the Supreme Court that Justice Earl Warrenled seemed to be remaking the country. To us, Justice Warren lookedlike a larger-than-life heroic figure. Michael Parrish has capturedparticularly well how he was viewed by our generation.In October 1970, soon after retiring from the Supreme Court,Justice Warren came to a new university in La Jolla, California, togive a speech. As he began to speak, some students unfurled a largebanner. Accustomed to the expletive-laced denunciations youngpeople commonly hurled at anyone or anything associated with "theestablishment," University of California San Diego administrators andprofessors cringed. When the sign came down, though, it proclaimed:"Right on Big Earl!"Warren was someone with whom the increasingly disillusionedand even radicalized youth of my generation could identify. This wasbecause he seemed to have done something to make the countrybetter. What seemed important to those of us who chose to become* Earl Warren Professor of Law, California Western School of Law. AdjunctProfessor of History, University of California San Diego.4California Western International Law Journal, Vol. 39, No. 2 [2009], Art. 6https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwilj/vol39/iss2/6EARL WARREN PROFESSORSHIPlawyers was that he had used the law to do it.Earl Warren and I do not have a lot in common. He was a big bearof a man, while I rather obviously am not. He was a mediocre student,while Dick Sweeny and I busted our butts in pursuit of Phi BetaKappa keys. He got his bachelor's and law degrees from theUniversity of California Berkeley, while I always thought thatCalifornia gold was meant to be worn with powder blue, that navyblue was for sailors, and that the University of California did notreally come of age until John Wooden brought the first of his tenNCAA basketball championships home to Westwood in 1964.Besides being Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1953to 1969, Justice Warren was the District Attorney of Alameda County,the Attorney General of California, a three-term governor of the state,and the 1948 Republican nominee for Vice President.I, on the other hand, have been a professor pretty much my entirecareer. Justice Warren and I both served briefly as very junior Armyofficers during a war-Justice Warren served in World War I, and Iserved in Vietnam-without ever getting anywhere near the fighting.There is only one really striking similarity between the ChiefJustice and me. The "Super Chief' was a natural left-hander, who inan era when there was considered to be something wrong withsouthpaws, was forced to learn to write and eat with his right hand. Iam also a southpaw. I throw left-handed, and am proud to report thatJustice Warren also played sports with his naturally dominant lefthand. That odd coincidence, however, is not enough to make me afitting choice to be the first Earl Warren Professor.What does, I hope, is my belief in the idea that Justice Warrencame to symbolize for lawyers of my generation. Practically the firstdecision the Supreme Court handed down after Earl Warren becameChief Justice was Brown v. Board of Education.1 Brown was followedby a plethora of legal landmarks, ranging from Miranda v. Arizona(with its requirement that police give warnings to suspects in custodybefore interrogating them),2 to Reynolds v. Sims (the one-person, one-vote ruling),3 to decisions banning prayer and Bible reading from1. Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483 (1954).2. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).3. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964).2009]5Belknap and Benner,: Earl Warren Professorship: Michal R. BelknapPublished by CWSL Scholarly Commons, 2009368 CALIFORNIA WESTERN INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 39public school classrooms.The constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federaljurisdiction casebooks of today are filled with Warren Court decisions.Entire branches of the law really begin with rulings of Warren'sCourt, some of them with opinions that he wrote. Most of hisdecisions had a common thrust: expanding the rights of society'soutsiders, particularly members of racial minorities. A generation oflawyers came out of law school wanting to follow in the footsteps ofthe Warren Court: to litigate the next big case that would establish thenext important right for the less fortunate.Social scientists have now demonstrated that many of ourassumptions were badly flawed. They have provided empiricallygrounded demonstrations that litigation did not do much to advanceimportant social reforms, such as school desegregation. One legalhistorian has even written a massive and compelling book arguing thatthe civil rights movement that won equality for African Americans inthe 1960s and 1970s was not so much inspired by Brown v. Board ofEducation,4 as it was the result of a reaction against it. Yet, in my roleas a member of the California Western admissions committee, I readcountless personal statements demonstrating that many studentsentering law school today still view law as an instrument forpromoting positive change in society. I am pleased about that.In his last public speech at Morehouse College, Earl Warrendeclared: "The great virtue of our government is that people can dosomething about it." 5 That is especially true for lawyers.As the first Earl Warren Professor, I hope to continually remindCalifornia Western students of this great virtue. I want students tocome away from their legal education with the message of thoseUCSD undergraduates thirty-seven years ago imprinted on theirbrains: Right on Big Earl.4. Brown, 347 U.S. at 483.5. Earl Warren, Chief Justice, United States Supreme Court, CommencementAddress at Morehouse College (May 21, 1974) in JACK HARRISON POLLACK, EARLWARREN: THE JUDGE WHO CHANGED AMERICA 321 (1979).6California Western International Law Journal, Vol. 39, No. 2 [2009], Art. 6https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwilj/vol39/iss2/6

Earl Warren Professorship: Michal R. Belknap

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Earl Warren Professorship: Michal R. Belknap

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