Justice Marshall, former Solicitor General of the United States, the man who successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education, and the first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, was a giant of 20th century jurisprudence and an American hero. In person, his presence was formidable. At oral argument, I once saw him reduce the Attorney General of Missouri to a puddle on the courtroom floor — with just two words. The Attorney General had asserted some conclusion about his case, and Marshall asked the man for facts to back up his assertion. The Attorney General said, “I don’t have that information.” Marshall paused, leaned forward, and thundered, “Why not?” Good God, it terrified me, and I was sitting in the back of the visitors’ gallery.
Reblogged from Frothy Paradise
