Wait, Norman Dorsen has just passed away, too? Good Lord this has been a tough week. In fact, I see that both Professors Dorsen and Ferguson passed away on July 1. Cribbing from the ACLU's memorial notice that appeared in New York Times today:
The Board of Directors and staff of the American Civil Liberties Union are deeply saddened by the passing of Norman Dorsen, one of the most influential civil liberties lawyers of the 20th century. Norman first made a name for himself leading a nationally renowned NYU Law program that specialized in civil liberties, named for Arthur Garfield Hays, co-founder and first general counsel of the ACLU. In 1965, Norman joined the ACLU and quickly became one of its leading lights. His work defending the rights of minorities, children, and the poor earned him the position of general counsel in 1969, and eventually president of the ACLU in 1976. It was in this role as general counsel that Norman worked on some of the great civil liberties cases of the century, including arguing and winning In re Gault in the Supreme Court, which guaranteed due process rights to juveniles charged with crimes. In 1977, Norman's leadership and ACLU's adherence to the First Amendment were tested, when the ACLU defended the right of Nazis to march through a Chicago suburb with a large community of Holocaust survivors. Thanks to his unflappable stewardship of the organization, the ACLU recovered many of the members it lost due to the controversy. Norman remained a tireless advocate for justice throughout his life. To celebrate his work, the ACLU established the Dorsen Presidential Prize in 2013 to honor an academic in any discipline who, like Norman, made an outstanding lifetime contribution to civil liberties. The ACLU extends its most heartfelt condolences to the Dorsen family on the loss of an extraordinary man.
The New York Times obituary is here.
My one story about Norman Dorsen is really about Jane Jacobs. I was speaking with him back in the spring of 1991, as I was finishing up my clerkship with Judge John Butzner and he said something along the lines of, "I'm good friends with Judge Butzner's sister." And that sort of puzzled me; so I probably gave one of those looks of wonder that my friends knew so well. And he said "you probably know her work — she's Jane Jacobs." To which I responded, "Death and Life of Great American Cities?" And he said, "yes — before she was Jane Jacobs she was Jane Butzner." My judge was such a modest and unassuming man that he'd never mentioned this.
I'm so sorry for having fallen behind on these memorial notices; I'm in the process of moving to Tuscaloosa — and also catching up on a book chapter that I'm way behind on, so I haven't been following current events the last few weeks.
Did he say anything more about Jane Jacobs?
(Best of luck with your move!)