documentThese passions brought him into constant conflict with the executive and legislative branches of governmentHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
and especially with prosecutors. He knew he could never win his battles by relying on current public opinion
documentClearly Bazelon was disappointed but he knew it would have taken a miracle to overcome the objections of the Justice DepartmentHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
and he didn’t have close connections to the Kennedys.
documentWe all left in a panic. Bazelon called me later that evening at home. “I have no faith in those Kennedy brothers and their friends. They’re a bunch of spoiled brats—their fathers’ childrenHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
he said contemptuously of Joseph Kennedy. I don’t like them and I don’t trust them. Look at the way they screwed up the Bay of Pigs. A bunch of arrogant amateurs.”
documentIn light of these actions and attitudesHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
one can only imagine how shocked I was when Judge Bazelon came back to the office from a lunch at the White House in mid-October and told his entire staff
documentA few weeks after I took the examHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
Judge Bazelon came storming out of his office holding a paper and not smiling. I knew that he got advance notice of the bar results and I thought that he was coming to tell me I had flunked. Instead he shouted
documentJudge Bazelon played hard and worked even harder. For his law clerks it was all workHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
no play. We had to be in the office before he arrived
documentIt soon became evident that the two great liberal judges were arguing about a private club that excluded Jews and Blacks. Douglas was a member of that club and had invited Bazelon to give a luncheon talk to its members. Bazelon had originally agreedHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
but when he learned of the clubs “restricted” nature
documentThe first time I went to Kronheim’s for lunchHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
we picked up two justices at the Supreme Court building: William O. Douglas and William Brennan. I had previously met Justice Brennan through his son Bill
documentI was privileged to participate in many of their lunches—mostly as a quiet observer—during my clerkship. (When I became a professorHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
Judge Bazelon invited me whenever I visited—then as a full participant).
documentPresidents and Prime Ministers come and go. So do Popes. But not Milton KronheimHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
who was a fixture of Washington life for more than 60 years.
document“There was a guy named Kronehiem who bragged he was so famous he could be photographed with “anyone in the world.” A skeptical friend challenged him. “You can’t be photographed with the President!” Within daysHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
Kronheim was standing on the White House balcony with JFK
documentI arrived in Washington during the summer of 1962House Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
in the midst of the Kennedy Administration. Although Judge David Bazelon was a court of appeals judge—early in my clerkship he became Chief Judge—he was at the center of Washington life
documentEven more important than my substantive experiences in working with these two important judgesHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
was the personal impact they both had on my life. Each was to serve as a mentor
documentThose years were also eventful in terms of judicial decisions. Many of the most important civil rightsHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
criminal law and freedom of speech cases were decided during my tenure as a law clerk. It was a period of liberal judicial activism—the Zenith (or for those more admiring of judicial restraint
documentJudge Bazelon was actually my first choiceHouse Oversight Committee — Epstein Estate Records (Nov 2025)1 pp.
but I also wanted--indeed I felt I needed--the status that came along with a Supreme Court clerkship in order to obtain the kind of job offers I would be seeking after finishing my clerkships. Two of my other mentors at law school
