Justice John Marshall Harlan Professor of Law

72 Pages Posted: 13 May 2009 Last revised: 21 Jul 2013

See all articles by Josh Blackman

Josh Blackman

South Texas College of Law Houston

Brian L. Frye

University of Kentucky - College of Law; Dogecoin DAO Legal Scholarship Page; Rug Radio DAO Grifting Division

Michael McCloskey

The Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies

Date Written: May 13, 2009

Abstract

From 1889 to 1910, while serving on the United States Supreme Court, the first Justice John Marshall Harlan taught at the Columbian College of Law, which became the George Washington University School of Law. For two decades, he primarily taught working-class evening students, in classes as diverse as property, torts, conflicts of law, jurisprudence, domestic relations, commercial law, evidence — and most significantly — constitutional law.

Harlan’s lectures on constitutional law would have been lost to history, but for the enterprising initiative — and remarkable note-taking — of one of Harlan’s students, George Johannes. During the 1897-98 academic year, George Johannes and a classmate transcribed verbatim the twenty-seven lectures Justice Harlan delivered on constitutional law. In 1955, Johannes sent the transcripts to the second Justice Harlan. The papers were ultimately deposited in the Library of Congress. Though much attention has been given to the life and jurisprudence of Justice Harlan, his lectures have been largely ignored.

Harlan’s lectures are a treasure trove of insights into his jurisprudence, as well as the state of constitutional law at the turn of the 20th century. They provide the unique opportunity to listen in as one of our greatest Justices lectures on the precipice of a constitutional revolution that he helped create. In this article, we use the lectures to paint a picture of who Justice Harlan was, what he believed, how he sought to impart that knowledge to the future lawyers of America, and how he predicted many of the changes in constitutional law that occurred during the 20th century.

This article, along with the annotated transcript of all twenty-seven lectures (http://ssrn.com/abstract=2003116), written on the centennial of Justice Harlan’s death, is a tribute to one of the giants of the law, and his contribution to legal education.

Keywords: Legal History, Supreme Court History, Harlan, John Marshall Harlan, Justice Harlan, George Washington Unversity, Supreme Court Justice

Suggested Citation

Blackman, Josh and Frye, Brian L. and McCloskey, Michael, Justice John Marshall Harlan Professor of Law (May 13, 2009). 81 George Washington Law Review 1063 (2013), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1403917 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1403917

Josh Blackman (Contact Author)

South Texas College of Law Houston ( email )

1303 San Jacinto Street
Houston, TX 77002
United States

Brian L. Frye

University of Kentucky - College of Law ( email )

620 S. Limestone Street
Lexington, KY 40506-0048
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.uky.edu/directory/brian-l-frye

Dogecoin DAO Legal Scholarship Page

Rug Radio DAO Grifting Division ( email )

Michael McCloskey

The Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies ( email )

1205 Kegg Ave Apt 117
Apt 117
Johnstown, PA 15904
United States

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