Summer standouts

More highlights in regional arts and entertainment

By ROBERT W. PLYLER

Subjects for columns are crowding in from every direction as the summer is the season for the arts, especially in our area.

The main subject this week is a recent bestselling non-fiction book by an author who will be speaking soon at the Chautauqua Institution.

Beyond that, we’ll have a look at some of the other non-performing arts with some connection or interest among readers.

Linda Greenhouse

Since 1978, with the exception of two years during the mid-1980s, during which she covered Congress, Linda Greenhouse has been the New York Times correspondent for the United States Supreme Court. She received the Pulitzer Prize for that coverage in 1998.

On July 25 at 3:30 p.m., Ms. Greenhouse will speak at Chautauqua’s Hall of Philosophy. She will be the second annual Robert H. Jackson speaker at Chautauqua. Her topic will be The New Supreme Court: Continuity and Change.

The speaker is a graduate of Radcliffe College at Harvard University and holds a master of studies in law degree from Yale Law School. In 2005, she published her first book: Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun’s Supreme Court Journey.

To give you more information about Ms. Greenhouse than just a press release and to help you find more information about her, we’d like to share our views of her book.

In the second half of the 20th Century, the Supreme Court came into vastly greater focus than it had played in our earlier history. There are many prominent names among the justices and chief justices who served the court during that time and probably none more significant than Associate Justice Harry Blackmun.

Ms. Greenhouse has based her book entirely on the late judge’s personal papers, to which she obtained access at the Library of Congress. She doesn’t try to defend his record on the bench, nor to attack it. Neither does she attempt to give a balanced analysis of his contributions to history, analyzing materials written in support of and opposed to his decisions.

Instead, she simply tells us what the justice wrote, largely in notes to himself and to others, about what he chose to do. She leaves the evaluating to her readers.

Since she completed her writing, by the way, in accordance with the terms of Blackmun’s will, his papers have become available to the general public.

Born in 1908, Blackmun began keeping a daily journal of his thoughts and actions at age 11. He also kept and filed away letters people wrote to him, notes which were passed along the bench from the other justices on the court, newspaper articles about the events of his day and anything else he thought would help to explain himself and the issues with which he dealt.

Blackmun was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Richard Nixon and took office in 1970. He would serve on the court for 24 years, until his retirement in the spring of 1994. Five years later, he died at age 90. In all those years on the bench, he would participate in the hearing of hundreds upon hundreds of cases.

He would agree with the majority on many and would disagree with the majority on many others. But in none of them did he acquire more public admiration and more public hatred than he did as the author of Roe v. Wade. That is the decision in which the court ruled that the federal constitution gave the decision on whether to remain pregnant or to terminate the pregnancy largely with the woman who experienced the pregnancy.

Ms. Greenhouse’s writing is very clearly stated and easy to read. She uses a broad vocabulary, but not one which will shut out the average reader. When she needs to employ a legal term, often in Latin, or to explain a complex circumstance such as how it is decided which cases the court will hear and which cases it will refuse to hear, her explanation is neither condescending nor arrogant.

If you read it, you’ll understand it.

It is amazing to me that we have declared the intention to have a government in which all people are equal and anyone who wishes may seek power, yet our public often has little or no understanding of the structure of our government. Incredibly enough, people often boast of their inability to understand how Congress makes a law or the powers of the courts to change or completely reject laws.

Reading this book demonstrated to me, far more clearly than any textbook or previous history which I have read, of exactly the mechanics which happen within one of the most powerful bodies in our government.

Very early in their lives — they attended the same Minnesota elementary school — Blackmun became good friends with Warren Burger, who would be Chief Justice of the court during most of the years during which Blackmun served on it.

The men would be best man for one another at their weddings and would exchange copious correspondence during periods during which they were apart, such as when Blackmun was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the central section of the country, stretching from Missouri to Minnesota, while Burger was appointed to the Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C.

When Blackmun was appointed, not long after Burger, the press referred to them as ‘‘The Minnesota Twins’’ and editorial writers predicted that they would vote as a solid block in nearly everything. One of the most interesting threads of the book relates how after nearly eight decades as close friends, the men were driven apart by the pressures of deciding cases on the Supreme Court, becoming virtually enemies by the time Burger retired.

In a representative government, do we give people power to do what we want them to do, or do we give them power because we trust them to use their own wisdom, scholarship and intuition to do what they think is right?

Reading Ms. Greenhouse’s book will make you think hard on that subject, whatever your political outlook.

Becoming Justice Blackmun has 251 pages, in paperbound edition. It was published by Times Books, Henry Holt and company, in New York, in 2005. It sells for $14 in that edition and bears the ISBN number 0-8050-8057-0.

There is no additional charge, beyond admission to the Grounds, for the author’s lecture, later this month. On Aug. 5, the Robert H. Jackson will co-sponsor another Chautauqua speaker. Abby Mann, best known as the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of the film Judgment at Nuremberg, will speak at the Hall of Philosophy.

That lecture is co-sponsored by the Chautauqua Women’s Club.

The Post-Journal

Saturday, July 1, 2006

Vol. 180, No. 10

Section C, Page 7

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Jackson Center Press Release July 12, 2006

ROBERT H. JACKSON CENTER PRESENTS U.S. SUPREME COURT REPORTER LINDA GREENHOUSE AT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION AND AT JACKSON SOCIETY EVENT

July 11, 2006 For release July 12, 2006

The Robert H. Jackson Center presents New York Times U.S. Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse at two events scheduled for Tuesday, July 25, at Chautauqua Institution and the Robert H. Jackson Center.

Sponsors helping to make the appearances possible include: Arnie and Jill Bellowe, Chautauqua Institution, County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, vic and joan gelb, Habiterra Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Thomas B. Hagen and Phillips Lytle Attorneys, LLP.

The first appearance will be at 3:30 p.m. at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauqua Institution when Ms. Greenhouse’s topic will be “The New Supreme Court: Continuity and Change.” The speech requires a gate ticket to Chautauqua.

Following her Chautauqua appearance, Ms. Greenhouse will appear at the Robert H. Jackson at a dinner honoring the Jackson Center’s “Jackson Society,” those donors who contribute $500 or more a year to the Jackson Center’s Annual Fund campaign for operating purposes. Pledges at this level may be made prior to July 19, enabling contributors entrance to the dinner at the Jackson Center. More information is available by calling (716)483-6646.

Since 1978 except for two years when she covered Congress, Linda Greenhouse has been the New York Times correspondent for the United States Supreme Court, for which she received a Pulitzer Prize in l998. She has been a regular guest on the PBS program, Washington Week, since 1980.

Ms. Greenhouse received her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College, and a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School. In 2005, she published her first book, Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun’s Supreme Court Journey, after she received first access to Justice Blackman’s papers and documents.

In 2005, she received from the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Robert H. Jackson Center honors Chautauqua County native and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson who grew up in Jamestown, practiced law here and went on to become the Chief American Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. The Center holds events, educational programs and exhibitry to preserve Jackson’s ideas on international and Constitutional law. The Center is open for tours from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturdays at 305 East Fourth Street, Jamestown, and at www.roberthjackson.org, telephone (716)483-6646.

For more information:

Rolland E. Kidder, Executive Director

Becky Irwin Robbins, Director of Development

(716)483-6646 at the Jackson Center

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Supreme Court Reporter To Speak At Two Local Events

The Robert H. Jackson Center will be presenting The New York Times U.S. Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse at two events scheduled for Tuesday at Chautauqua Institution and the Robert H. Jackson Center.

Sponsors helping to make the appearances possible include: Arnie and Jill Bellowe, Chautauqua Institution, County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, Vic and Joan Gelb, Habiterra Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Thomas B. Hagen and Phillips Lytle Attorneys LLP.

The first appearance will be at 3:30 p.m. at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauqua Institution, when Ms. Greenhouse’s topic will be ‘‘The New Supreme Court: Continuity and Change.’’ The speech requires a gate ticket to Chautauqua.

Following her Chautauqua appearance, Ms. Greenhouse will appear at the Robert H. Jackson at a dinner honoring the Jackson Center’s ‘‘Jackson Society,’’ those donors who contribute $500 or more a year to the Jackson Center’s Annual Fund campaign for operating purposes. More information is available by calling 483-6646.

Since 1978, except for two years when she covered Congress, Linda Greenhouse has been the The New York Times correspondent for the United States Supreme Court, for which she received a Pulitzer Prize in l998. She has been a regular guest on the PBS program Washington Week since 1980.

Ms. Greenhouse received her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College, and a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School. In 2005, she published her first book, Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun’s Supreme Court Journey, after she received first access to Justice Blackman’s papers and documents.

In 2005, she received from the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Robert H. Jackson Center honors Chautauqua County native and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson who grew up in Jamestown, practiced law here and went on to become the Chief American Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. The center holds events, educational programs and exhibitry to preserve Jackson’s ideas on international and Constitutional law. The center is open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at 305 E. Fourth St., Jamestown, and at www.roberthjackson.org, telephone 483-6646.

THE SUNDAY POST-JOURNAL, Jamestown, New York

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Vol. 180, No. 332

Section B, Page 5

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Reporter examines evolution of justices

“I’m looking at patterns of change, and justices who evolve in their time on the court, and justices who don’t,” said New York Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse.

Greenhouse will give a lecture titled “The New Supreme Court: Continuity and Change” at 3:30 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy.

The talk is co-sponsored by the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown. Sponsors helping to make the appearances possible include Arnie and Jill Bellowe, Chautauqua Institution, County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, Vic and Joan Gelb, Habiterra Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Thomas B. Hagen, and Phillips Lytle Attorneys, LLP.

Since 1978, except for two years when she covered Congress, Greenhouse has been The New York Times correspondent for the United States Supreme Court, for which she received a Pulitzer Prize in l998. She has been a regular guest on the PBS program, “Washington Week” since 1980.

Greenhouse’s interest in change or evolution was well represented in her book Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun’s Supreme Court Journey, noted prominently in the words “becoming” and “journey” in the title.

A description from online bookstore Powells.com indicated the book reveals how Blackmun “was not afraid to question his own views on such controversial issues as abortion, the death penalty, and sex discrimination.” The book also relates the evolution of a friendship between Chief Justice Warren Burger and Blackmun, lifelong friends whose political differences became personal.

Greenhouse is interested in the nature and quality of the forces that lead to such evolution, especially in some justices as compared to others.

“This marks the first time since 1971 that we have had two such newly placed justices on the court,” Greenhouse said.

Greenhouse received her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College, and a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School. In 2005, she received the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

Being a reporter of the Supreme Court provides Greenhouse a ringside seat in a process of consequential events, she said.

“I come in well-informed and can get a grip on the issues in real time,” Greenhouse said.

Greenhouse communicated a sense of the ringside seat, reporting for the Times on June 29, 2006, as the decision came down regarding the Guantanamo tribunals. She reported that John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority an opinion that “in sober tones shredded each of the administration's arguments, including the assertion that Congress had stripped the court of jurisdiction to decide the case.”

The Chautauquan Daily

Chautauqua, New York

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Vol. CXXX, Issue 25

Pages 1 and 9

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‘N.Y. Times’ Reporter Speaks At Chautauqua

By STEVEN M. SWEENEY

CHAUTAUQUA — Linda Greenhouse is what some Supreme Court watchers have called the 10th justice.

She avoided acknowledging the weighty title while speaking before Chautauquans at the Hall of Philosophy on Tuesday, but said 28 years covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times have given her an interesting vantage point.

And her time with the court has been long enough for her to notice patterns — specifically evidence of justices’ changing temperament and attitudes over time.

‘‘Rehnquist, in his final years, is not really the justice we thought he was. What I think he acquired was a different perspective,’’ Ms. Greenhouse said.

She cited a case in which the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist delivered the court’s opinion supporting Miranda warnings — the ‘‘you have a right to remain silent’’ verbiage uttered during an arrest.

For 30 years, Rehnquist fought to kill Miranda, but finally said the warning is part of America’s national culture.

The question of why such changes happen was first posed, Ms. Greenhouse found, by Jamestown’s own Justice Robert H. Jackson, who said the court affects justices more than they affect it.

‘‘When the court invalidated every death penalty statute, Blackmun dissented. When the court ordered (President) Nixon to turn over his papers, Blackmun dissented,’’ Ms. Greenhouse said of late Justice Harry Blackmun, a Richard Nixon appointee.

The Times reporter says a tipping point for Blackmun came when Chief Justice Earl Warren appointed him to write the majority opinion in the abortion-rights case Roe v. Wade in 1973. He wrote it clinically, from a physician’s perspective.

‘‘Yet, barely four years later, you see a very different Harry Blackmun,’’ she said. ‘‘After he wrote for the court in Roe, Blackmun was shocked by the response. He was vilified on one hand — he got the hate mail, death threats, people picketed him for the rest of his life. On one hand he was vilified. On the other, he was lionized.’’

Other cases of the 1970s left Blackmun in an interesting position — dissenting, speaking for the underdog, the poor, underprivileged and less endowed by society where once before he was less inclined to support government- endorsed transformations on those issues.

Other examples of change include longtime Chautauqua visitor retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Justice John Paul Stevens — who were both appointed as conservative thinkers but crossed an imaginary line into liberalism.

Ms. Greenhouse said Supreme Court justices with no ulterior motives or personal agendas tend to be moved by the issues and personalities with which and whom they encounter, while ideologues become more insular.

Changes to the Supreme Court with the additions of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito are inevitable, but largely undetermined.

‘‘This personnel change ended the longest period of stability in the court’s membership since the 1820s. We won’t know the full dimensions of that change for some time,’’ Ms. Greenhouse said. ‘‘As Justice Byron White said, ’Anytime there is a new justice, there is a new court.’’’

Only time will tell. Ms. Greenhouse’s lecture appearance at Chautauqua was sponsored in part by the

Robert H. Jackson Center. Ms. Greenhouse is the author of a new book on Justice Blackmun, Becoming Justice Blackmun.

The Post-Journal

Jamestown, New York

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Vol. 180, No. 35

Section A, Pages 1 and 3