ASSOCIATE JUSTICE POTTER STEWART - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 10/01/1979 - HFSID 175353

POTTER STEWART
Potter Stewart sends a typed letter of regret that the recipient was not chosen for an interview for a clerkship opening.
Typed Letter Signed: "Potter Stewart", 1p, 5¾x9. Washington, D.C., 1979 October 1. To Mr. Timothy P. Greeley, Westland, Michigan. In full: "Thank you for your interest in applying for a clerkship with me during the 1980 Term. Unfortunately, the large number of applications received has necessitated a preliminary selection. As a result of that selection, I shall not have the pleasure of an interview with you this year, but I do want to congratulate you on your record, and to convey my best wishes for a successful professional career. Sincerely yours," Potter Stewart (1915-1985), appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was Associate Justice from 1958-1981. Stewart often cast the deciding vote on major issues; he was the balance - the "swing" justice - between his conservative and liberal brethren on both the Warren and Burger courts. Always weighing an individual's rights against society's needs, he was a staunch advocate of a defendant's right to counsel. However, Stewart felt that a criminal's rights did not begin upon arrest but upon formal indictment; thus, he dissented in Miranda vs. Arizona (1966), which required police to read a newly arrested suspect his rights before questioning. Stewart supported judicial restraint, was reluctant to place even limited restrictions on the federal government and opposed both the death penalty and censorship. When he retired, Stewart was replaced by Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman Associate Justice (appointed by President Ronald Reagan). Fold creases not near signature. Fine condition.