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Articles and Stories by Sonia Pressman Fuentes

Sonia Pressman Fuentes

Let's  Remember the Progress We Have Made.

Sonia sent the following email on Sept. 30, 2015, entitled "Let's  Remember the Progress We Have Made."

Dear Friends:

When I was visiting Chautauqua, NY one summer, I learned of the nearby Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, NY.  That center is dedicated to advancing public awareness and appreciation for Robert H. Jackson, US Supreme Court Justice and Chief US  prosecutor at Nuremberg.

Regularly, Professor John Q. Barrett, a board member of the center, sends out emails with vignettes about the life of Justice Jackson.  The email I received today contained two lovely letters written by Jackson's fellow justice, Felix Frankfurter.  It reminded me of an incident in my own life involving Justice Frankfurter that occurred forty-five years ago, and I would like to share it with you.  It is spelled out in my letter to Professor Barrett below.

Best,
Sonia

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Dear  John:

Thanks for sharing these beautifully written letters by Justice Felix Frankfurter.

Glad I have lived to see, and to have been involved in the change, that it is not just nine men who make the important Supreme Court decisions any more but that we now have three brilliant women to join them in the task.

Writing this email reminds me that in 1970 I had the privilege of being present at the first US Supreme Court hearing of a case involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, administered by the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), where I was an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel for its first eight years. The case, Phillips v. Martin-Marietta Corp., involved allegations of gender discrimination and the issue of whether discrimination against women because they were mothers (called sex plus) was discrimination based on sex.

At that hearing, I heard Justice Frankfurter say, "I take judicial notice of the fact that a man can prefer a woman in hiring a secretary" or words to that effect. Dear God, I thought, if we can't find an understanding of sex discrimination at the US Supreme Court, where will we find it?  But we did find it in that US Supreme Court, and Justice Frankfurter turned out to be wrong. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Ms. Phillips, and today an employer can no longer legally prefer one gender over another in hiring a secretary--or in hiring for most other jobs.

All the best,
Sonia

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For the Jackson List:

In summer 1945, Justice Felix Frankfurter got away from Washington.  During the Court’s recess, his retreat was New Milford in western Connecticut, where he and his wife Marion vacationed, rested, read and wrote, and socialized with friends.

Most of Frankfurter’s Supreme Court colleagues also left town that summer.  Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone vacationed in New Hampshire.  Justice Owen J. Roberts went to his home in Pennsylvania.  Justice William O. Douglas visited Oregon.  Justice Wiley Rutledge traveled to Boulder, Colorado.  Justice Robert H. Jackson, appointed that spring by President Truman to prosecute Nazi war criminals, relocated to London to negotiate with allies, and then to Nuremberg to prepare his case.

In mid-September, Justice Frankfurter returned to his Washington home, and to work at the Court in preparation for its impending new term.

Justice Roberts did not return.  To Frankfurter’s surprise, Roberts resigned from the Court that July.

In response, President Truman on September 18th nominated Senator Harold H. Burton (R.-OH) to succeed Justice Roberts. 

The next day, the Senate, acting unanimously without any hearing or debate, confirmed Senator Burton’s appointment.

Justice Frankfurter then penned this letter to his new colleague:

                        3018 Dumbarton Ave

                        September 19/45

Dear Brother Burton – for

there cannot be a more fitting

initial use of the traditional

salutation of judicial

fellowship than to extend

you a sincere welcome to

the Court and to express

the confident hope of happy

companionship in our

common labors.

            You will, I am sure,

agree that the ideals and

purposes which underlie

the Supreme Court were

the ultimate cause at

stake in the awful holocaust

of the War – that men

and Society should be

governed by Reason

and not be Force, whether

brutally or subtly ap-

plied.  And Reason im-

plies regard for the wisdom

of the past as well [as] re-

sponse to the new wisdom

of the present.  It is

an arousing task, as I

feel it more and more,

to commit to nine

men the share in the governance

of Reason that has been assigned

to the Supreme Court in the

maintenance of our institutions,

and the furtherance of our

beloved country’s great destiny.

I look forward with comfort

and eagerness to your participation

in the Court’s historic and indispensable

function.                      Very sincerely yours

                                                            Felix Frankfurter

 

Justice Frankfurter was not surprised, of course, by Justice Jackson’s continuing absence from Washington and the Supreme Court—his Nuremberg assignment was highly publicized and ongoing.

In late September, Frankfurter called the Jackson home, Hickory Hill, to say hello to the Justice’s wife.  He learned that she was in New York State, visiting family and friends.  So on September 30th, seventy years ago today, he wrote her these thoughts:

Dear Irene:

            Just a word of af-

fectionate greeting on

our return.  Of course

it would have been a

pleasure at least to

hear your voice over

the phone – even if not

to see your warming

face – but I’m glad

you are amidst

familiar and happy

haunts, while Bob is

away.  He is having

no easy time – but

the problems he is con-

cerned with are of his-

toric scale and world

importance, and re-

trospectively he will

have had a memorable

time.

            Our fondest regards

to you.

                        Very sincerely

                                    Felix

 

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