Pictured: William Eldred Jackson, Robert and Irene's son. William was born on July 19, 1919.

Justice at Home

The Constitution of the United States, as written by our forefathers and ratified by the people themselves, is not beyond the understanding of the average citizen. In simple language it sets up a skeleton government, sketches its powers and limitations in a few great clauses, and in ten short amendments declares those fundamental rights which make up our freedom. It does not use technical terms, and it is all contained in about 4.500 words. Such brevity proves that it is not a mere lawyer's document. I urge you to study it.

-Robert H. Jackson, Is Our Constitutional Government in Danger?

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.

Tea Time with the Jackson Center: Center for Court Innovation

Our July 8, 3:00 pm ET Tea guests are Sherene Crawford, Associate Director, Criminal Justice, and Kellsie Barton, Associate Director of Restorative Justice, at the Center for Court Innovation, an organization that "works to achieve justice and equity; create safe, healthy, and thriving communities; and ultimately transform justice systems." The Center for Court Innovation does this through research, creative thinking around justice systems and practices, and policy guidance and implementation. Kellsie, Sherene, and Kristan will discuss the work of the Center for Court Innovation to reform the justice systems and make justice more accessible and equitable to all, including the project at Midtown Community Court, one of the country's first problem-solving courts that seeks to reduce crime and incarceration and increasing public trust in justice.

If you have a Facebook account, follow RHJC's page and Kristan's page to be notified when we go live. You can interact with us by commenting on the video during the live stream. Share the video link with your friends on Facebook and other social media accounts using the hashtag #TeawithRHJC.

If you don't have a Facebook account, click here at 3pm to view the Tea on the Center's public Facebook page. You can catch up on previous Teas on our website or YouTube channel.

Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok and share the videos with your family and friends on social media using the hashtag #TeawithRHJC.

In Case You Missed It: Osprey & the Law

On June 24, the Jackson Center and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) hosted a panel discussion on environmental law, moderated by Kristan, with both in person and virtual attendees and panelists. Check out the recording of the program on RTPI's YouTube channel, beginning at the 2 minute mark. 

Pictured: Professor Melissa Murray, 2021 Robert H. Jackson Lecturer on the Supreme Court of the United States

Coming Up at the Jackson Center

Thursday, July 8 at 3pm ET: Tea Time with the Jackson Center with Sherene Crawford and Kellsie Barton, the Center for Court Innovation

Summer Saturday Tours, 10am-2pm ET

Through Labor Day weekend, a Jackson Center staff member will be available every Saturday from 10am-2pm for guided tours!  Visiting the Center is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. If you are vaccinated, you do not need to wear a mask while visiting the Center. However, if there are children under 12 years of age in your group or in the building, we ask that everyone wear a mask. If you do not have a mask, one can be provided for you.

Wednesday, July 21 5pm to 7pm ET: Art After 5 at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI, 311 Curtis Street, Jamestown, NY 14701)

The Jackson Center will be the featured guest for July 21st Art After Five program at RTPI, along with music by the Nicholas Nasibyan Duo. Cost is $20/person. Partial and full season pass pricing are available here.

Thursday, July 22 at 1:30pm ET: The 17th Annual Robert H. Jackson Lecture on the Supreme Court of the United States, Chautauqua Assembly Virtual Platform

This year’s lecturer is Professor Melissa Murray, the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. Professor Murray will be in conversation with Professor John Q. Barrett, Professor of Law at St. John’s University, the Jackson Center’s Elizabeth S. Lenna Fellow, and a board member. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions. Register for this free virtual program here.

Monday, July 26 at 3pm EST: Jackson's Prose-

The IMT Closing Statement 

Bryan A. Garner, lawyer, grammarian, lexicographer, and author of over 25 books, joins RHJC President Kristan McMahon virtually to discuss Robert H. Jackson's closing statement at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg on its 75th anniversary. Register for this free webinar here.

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.

Justice Jackson wrote a letter to his son, William, then a Harvard law student, after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 17, 1941. Upon hearing of the attack, William had called his father and discussed dropping out of law school to join the war effort. Jackson wrote the following to his son on the day after the phone call:

My own hunch is that there is a much more important
front on which men of your temperament and mine can battle
than the front of war. That is the front of organizing a peace
so that it will stay peaceful, and I suspect that you will do
your race as much good if you devote the next two and a half
years to preparation for that as you would do by abandoning
the thing for which I think you have some special fitness to
go into fields in which the Selective Service has already
adjudged you not adapted. Of course, whatever you decide
to do will have all we can give it.

Read the rest of the letter, courtesy of the Jackson List, here.

From the Jackson Center archives: Justice Jackson, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

This Month in Jackson History

July 11, 1941: Robert H. Jackson is appointed as the 82nd Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Roosevelt.

July 19, 1919: William Eldred Jackson is born to Robert and Irene in Jamestown, NY.

July 26, 1946: Robert H. Jackson gives the closing statement for the U.S. at the international military tribunal at Nuremberg. Listen to the audio on our YouTube channel here. 

Buy a Brick, Build a Legacy

The Robert H. Jackson Center provides a unique gift opportunity to provide an enduring and highly visible way to honor family members, friends, veterans, and other loved ones. “Buy a Brick – Build a Legacy” offers a way to make a gift that will last for many years while recognizing those whose outstanding contributions have made your community – or perhaps, the world – a better place.

For a contribution of $750, you may inscribe an 8″ X 8″ brick, or choose a smaller size (4″ × 8″) for a contribution of $500. The honorary bricks will be incorporated into the Center’s beautiful walkway, to forever become part of the historic path winding through the Center’s past and present. Proceeds become part of the Center’s Annual Fund to be used towards our ongoing educational initiatives and activities. A certificate announcing your gift will be sent to the recipient.