Irene and Robert Jackson on horseback, Jamestown, NY.

Justice at Home

The judgments and opinions of this Court deeply penetrate the.intellectual life of the nation. This Court is more than an arbiter of cases and controversies. It is the custodian of a culture and is the protector of a philosophy of equal rights, of civil liberty, of tolerance, and of trusteeship of political and economic power, general acceptance of which gives us a basic national unity.

-"Sesquicentennial of the Supreme Court of the United States," published in the New York Law Review, March 1940.

Welcome to Justice at Home, an email newsletter from the Robert H. Jackson Center that hits your inbox every three weeks with updates on our virtual programming, lesson plans and lectures, and interesting finds from our digital archives. 

If you enjoy this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and share it on your social media pages. Make sure to tag us (@roberthjacksoncenter) and use the hashtag #JusticeatHome.

Coming Up at the Jackson Center

October 7 at 7:00pm ET/6:00pm CT: 75 Years Since the Nuremberg Trial: What It Was and Why It Matters. A special one-hour virtual event featuring Prof. John Q. Barrett, St. John's University School of Law professor and the Jackson Center's Elizabeth S. Lenna Fellow, and Prof. Joseph A. Ross, Visiting Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discussing the importance of the Nuremberg Trial then and its legacy today. This webinar is offered in partnership with the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and the Truman Library Institute. Advance registration in required, and you can do that here. 

October 15 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm: Jamestown Pride Coffeehouse. In collaboration with Jamestown Pride, the Fenton History Center, and the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County, the Robert H. Jackson Center is hosting Jamestown Pride's autumn event, which will highlight stories of coming out and being in the LGBTQIA+ community in Chautauqua County. This is an in-person event.

October 21 from 8:30am to 2:00pm: Cold War Secrets Revealed. This free seminar will explore the compelling stories that swirled behind-the-scenes during the Cold War period following World War II. We are honored to welcome David Gill, Consul General of Germany in New York as our featured speaker. Joining him will be renowned experts Professor Arthur Downey, author Nancy Thorndike Greenspan, and Eli Rosenbaum, Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy for the U.S. Department of Justice. The seminar will be hosted in person and accessible as a live webinar. Advance registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendees. Learn more about this seminar and register here. 

In Case You Missed It

Our September 23 Tea guests were Marcie Roth, Executive Director and CEO, and Dawn Skaggs, Emergency, Disaster, and Climate Resilience Specialist, for the World Institute on Disability. WID’s global mission is to continually advance the rights and opportunities of over one billion people with disabilities. You can watch it on the Jackson Center's YouTube Channel (and remember to subscribe to the channel while you are there.)

From Jackson's Desk

Robert H. Jackson was a gifted orator and writer. Many of his articles and speech transcripts are housed on our website. We feature them in our weekly #TuesdayMotivation and #SundayQuote on the Jackson Center's social media pages.

In June 1946, Justice Robert H. Jackson, Chief Prosecutor of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, published an article in the New York Times Magazine in response to criticism of the IMT. Jackson believed the IMT made 'undiscriminate vengeance and killings without hearings' obsolete. He concluded his piece with the following:

"So I think the great lesson which Nuremberg has taught the world, irrespective of the
outcome of this trial, is that while a hearing to make sure you are punishing the right men and for the right reasons does take time, does cost money and does allow them
to reiterate their defenses, it is worth while."

Read the rest of Jackson's thoughts in 'Justice Jackson Weighs Nuremberg's Lessons' on our website here. 

The International Military Tribunal Judges, Nuremberg, Germany

This Month in Jackson History

October 1, 1946: The verdicts on the 22 individual defendants of the International Military Tribunal are delivered by the judges. Twelve defendants were sentenced to death, three to life imprisonment, and four to prison terms of varied lengths. Three defendants were found not guilty.

October 4, 1890: Irene Alice Gerhardt was born in 1890 in Jockey Hill, NY. She met Robert H. Jackson in 1911 in Albany, where she was a state secretary and he was a law student. They married in 1916.

October 9, 1954: Robert H. Jackson died from a heart attack. His funeral services were held at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC and at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Jamestown, NY. His Supreme Court colleagues traveled to Jamestown for his funeral. He is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Frewsburg, NY. 

Save the Date for #GivingTuesday

In uncertain times, this is a fundamental truth - together we do extraordinary things. Join the Robert H. Jackson's Center Giving Tuesday campaign on NOVEMBER 30 and join our #20for80 or #80for20 inaugural class of sustaining donors. Keep an eye on your inbox, our website, and our social media channels for new ways you can partner with us during this 24-hour day of philanthropy