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Full-Text Articles in Law
In Memoriam: Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Ronald J. Bacigal
In Memoriam: Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Ronald J. Bacigal
Law Faculty Publications
It is difficult to write about Judge Merhige in an academic journal. His greatness lay not in formulating abstract legal doctrine, but in applying the law to real life situations. When I began researching his biography in 1986, the most pleasant part of the process was personal interviews with the Judge spanning two and a half years and filling some fifty audio tapes. Unfortunately, I was never able to capture his humanity in print and may have done him a disservice by writing his biography the way a law professor does-focusing on the intellectual aspects of his famous cases, rather …
Judge Procter Hug, Jr. And Good Judgment, Carl W. Tobias
Judge Procter Hug, Jr. And Good Judgment, Carl W. Tobias
Law Faculty Publications
Tribute to Judge Procter R. Hug, Jr. upon assuming Senior Status as a United Circuit Judge.
The Theory And Practice Of Defending Judges Against Unjust Criticism, Ronald J. Bacigal
The Theory And Practice Of Defending Judges Against Unjust Criticism, Ronald J. Bacigal
Law Faculty Publications
Having set forth the above premise and conclusion, the American Bar Association Subcommittee on Unjust Criticism of the Bench promulgated a model program for bar associations to follow when countering inaccurate or unjust criticism of judges. This article presents no quarrel with the model program but instead seeks to relate the model to an empirical account of how it might operate in practice. It must be remembered that the acid test of a theoretical model is not whether the theory is "true" in a purely academic sense but whether the model is useful in describing the "real world. " In …
When Racists And Radicals Meet, Ronald J. Bacigal, Margaret Ivey Bacigal
When Racists And Radicals Meet, Ronald J. Bacigal, Margaret Ivey Bacigal
Law Faculty Publications
In order to stimulate scholarly discussion, this Essay presents an empirical account of the Greensboro incident from the perspective of those who participated in the episode and in the resulting civil rights trial. The Essay traces the circumstances leading to the violence and reviews the resultant litigation with special attention given to the role of the trial judge in politically volatile cases. The candid reflections offered by the trial judge and other participants allow the reader to examine both the event and the litigation, not merely in the abstract, but as implemented by flesh-andblood lawyers, litigants, and judges. .
Judicial Reflections Upon The 1973 Uprising At Wounded Knee, Ronald J. Bacigal
Judicial Reflections Upon The 1973 Uprising At Wounded Knee, Ronald J. Bacigal
Law Faculty Publications
This essay presents a view of Wounded Knee from the perspective of federal district judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., who was part of a judicial task force sent to South Dakota in 1973. Viewing Wounded Knee from the perspective of a trial judge discloses the social forces underlying Wounded Knee and also provides insights into the role of a trial judge in politically sensitive cases.
A Case Study Of The Federal Judiciary's Role In Court-Ordered Busing: The Professional And Personal Experiences Of U.S. District Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Ronald J. Bacigal, Margaret I. Bacigal
A Case Study Of The Federal Judiciary's Role In Court-Ordered Busing: The Professional And Personal Experiences Of U.S. District Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Ronald J. Bacigal, Margaret I. Bacigal
Law Faculty Publications
Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr. assumed the office of federal district judge for the Eastern District of Virginia in August of 1967. Upon discovering that federal judges had lifetime tenure, Merhige's father advised: "Take the job. You'll live forever." Neither the elder Merhige nor any observer could have foreseen the turbulence that would engulf Judge Merhige's life on the bench. Two weeks after his appointment, Merhige was faced with government efforts to silence militant black leader H. Rap Brown. Soon thereafter Merhige confronted numerous civil rights and anti-war issues, gaining some immediate notoriety as the first federal judge to declare …