Excerpts from Linda Greenhouse's Talk

Times reporter discusses justices' relationships on the court

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

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Durham, N.C. -- Linda Greenhouse, the award-winning Supreme Court reporter for The New York Times, came to Duke Feb. 13. The court may be the least well-known of the three arms of the federal government, but in a public interview with Duke law professor Walter Dellinger, Greenhouse explained the human drama behind the court activities and rulings.

One of the most interesting figures on the court in recent years was Harry Blackmun, about whom Greenhouse has just written a biography called Becoming Justice Blackmun. One of the sadder stories of the court was the growing bitterness between Blackmun and his close friend, Chief Warren Burger. The two had known each otehr since kindergarten, but by the time Burger left the court, the two old friends were barely speaking to each other, Greenhouse said.

Blackmun was known as the author of Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights decision. Greenhouse said Blackmun was a reluctant advocate of abortion rights, and he initially resisted a close identification with the decision. But underscoring the human factor in the law, Blackmun soon grew to accept his legacy as author of the decision. Greenhouse said it changed him personally and professionally.

The human factor also was evident in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 Supreme Court ruling that struck down state laws against sodomy and broke new ground in privacy and gay rights. Her story the day after the court arguments took the unusual step of focusing on the audience in the court chamgers. She told the Duke audience that the area reserved for members of the prestigious Supreme Court Bar Association was filled to capacity with gay men and women lawyers.