Jamail Center for Legal Research
Tarlton Law Library

The papers of Supreme Court Justice Blackmun

Justice Harry A. Blackmun (1908-1999) donated 1,576 boxes of his personal papers to the Library of Congress with an agreement that they not be opened to the public until five years after his death. On March 4, 2004 the Library of Congress released the material to the public.

In preparation for this event, the Blackmun estate allowed early access to the papers for two Supreme Court reporters: Nina Totenberg of NPR and Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times. Their exclusive articles, first published on the morning of the public opening of the Blackmun papers, led to a national discussion about the work of the Supreme Court and its justices.

Below are some key resources regarding the Justice Blackmun Papers.

Official web site

The Harry A. Blackmun Papers at the Library of Congress, official Web site

Finding Aid for the Collection (HTML: outline view)

Finding Aid for the Collection (PDF: 410 pages)

National news coverage

NPR Coverage: including video clips of Justice Blackmun, audio segments from the NPR articles, and photos of the papers

PBS Coverage on the Newshour with Jim Leher: including audio clips, transcripts of the interviews and text articles

New York Times Blackmun Interactive Web site

New York Times Articles by Linda Greenhouse about Justice Blackmun

Linda Greenhouse,"At a Shrine of American Documents, Pathos, Poetry and Blackmun's 'Rosebud'," New York Times, March 7, 2004 at p. 7.

Linda Greenhouse,"Friends for Decades, But Years on Court Left Them Strangers," New York Times, March 5, 2004 at p. 1.

Linda Greenhouse,"Documents Reveal the Evolution of a Justice," New York Times, March 4, 2004 at p. 1.

Linda Greenhouse,"Justice Blackmun, Author of Abortion Right, Dies," New York Times, March 5, 1999 at p. 1.

David G. Savage, "Roe's Author Found Himself a Bystander in '92 Abortion Fight," Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2004 at p. 14.

Fred Barbash, "Blackmun's Papers Shine Light Into Court," Washington Post, March 5, 2004 at A1.

Charles Lane, "How Justices Handle A Political Hot Potato," Washington Post, March 5, 2004 at A1.

Dahlia Lithwick, "Justice Burps: Shock and awe over the Blackmun papers," Slate Magazine (March 5, 2004)

Tony Mauro, “First Look Yields Trove of Court Trivia: Blackmun's Papers Detail Shifting Alliances In Key Cases, As Well As The Personal Side of Sitting on Supreme Court”, 27 Legal Times (March 8, 2003)

Tony Mauro, “Is The Court Above It All? Recent Events Demonstrate A Strong Urge To Go Its Own Way. Plus: Introducing "Blackmun Briefs"”, 27 Legal Times (March 29, 2003) (see subsection “BREAKFAST WITH BLACKMUN”)

Tony Mauro, “Reflections on Justice Douglas' 1954 Hike That Saved The C And O Canal From Being Paved Over. Plus: A "Double" Bobble”, 27 Legal Times (April 26, 2003) (see subsection “The Date Debate”)