ASSOCIATE JUSTICE ABE FORTAS - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 10/18/1974 - HFSID 24500
Sale Price $250.00
Reg. $320.00
ABE FORTAS
The Supreme Court justice sends a typed letter to an admirer regarding the naming of his
son
Typed Letter Signed: "Abe Fortas", 1p, 7¼x10½. Washington, D.C., 1974 October 18. On
personal letterhead to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Colbert, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In full:
"Thank you for naming you [sic] son after me. I have enclosed a card for his birthday album. My
best wishes to you. Sincerely". The Colberts would send fake birth announcements to famous
people eliciting autographs. After two decades of private law practice, Fortas (1910-1982) was
appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. Fortas had
successfully represented LBJ when Johnson's 84-vote victory in the 1948 Democratic Senate
primary in Texas was challenged, and remained a confidante of President Johnson. In 1968,
LBJ nominated Fortas to succeed Earl Warren as Chief Justice, but then withdrew the
nomination. In 1969, "Life" magazine revealed that Fortas had accepted and then returned a
fee of $20,000 from a charitable foundation controlled by the family of an indicted stock
manipulator. Public opinion forced Fortas to resign from the bench on May 14, 1969, but
denied any wrongdoing. It was the only time in U.S. history that a Supreme Court Justice
resigned under public pressure. Horizontal and vertical folds. Fine condition.
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