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A new article written by librarian Scott Campbell offers a fresh look at the friendship between Louis D. Brandeis and his partner (and co-author of his landmark article “The Right to Privacy,”) Samuel D. Warren.
The two of them became fast friends in Harvard Law School, and it was Warren who convinced Brandeis to start a practice together, which quickly became one of the top law firms in Boston. Warren eventually had to leave the firm when his father died so that he could help run his family’s paper mill. However, pressure brought on by a lawsuit by his brother over his handling of the mill, caused Warren to commit suicide.
Two letters recently unearthed from the library’s collection of Brandeis’ papers document the swirl of rumors that surrounded Brandeis after Warren’s death. One letter was written by Richard Hale, an associate, and so-called friend, of Brandeis’, who wrote the letter to tell a friend why he felt Brandeis had been unfit to serve on the Supreme Court. Among his many accusations, Hale brings up the trust Brandeis helped create so that the Warren mill would stay in the family, and which would lead to the lawsuit. Hale also suggests that Brandeis was largely responsible for Warren’s suicide.
Edward McClennen, one of Brandeis’ later partners at his firm, wrote a letter refuting Hale’s charges. In doing so, McClennen reveals many details about Brandeis’ life and legal career that have gone unmentioned in Brandeis’ biographies. He also retells Brandeis’ favorite joke.
The letters are significant in that they reveal motivations to the opposition Brandeis faced when he was nominated to the Court. One of the surprising things about the Congressional hearings held on Brandeis’ nomination was that so many Boston lawyers testified in opposition to it. While they gave many reasons for their opposition, these letters reveal for the first time what may have been the real reason: the rumors linking Brandeis to Warren’s death.
The article “Louis D. Brandeis and the Death of Samuel D. Warren” reprints both letters with an extensive analysis. It is in the current issue (volume 46, number 3) of the Journal of Supreme Court History, which can be found in our collection and at other law libraries. It is also available online via the Wiley database.
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