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Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr. - Strict Constructionist Weathers The Storm, Paul K. Campsen, P. Christopher Guedri, Jennings G. Ritter Ii, Edward H. Starr Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

On August 27, 1967, Robert R. Merhige, Jr., was commissioned as a United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, the embarkment upon what many members of the legal community have labeled a controversial judicial career. However, examination of Judge Merhige's numerous decisions reveals that his image as a disputatius public figure has been more than a function of his flare for vehemently enforcing pronouncements and policies of the Supreme Court. The man, who created fervor throughout this state and the South with his publicly chastised busing decisions of the early 1970s, has been a victim of …