John Minor Wisdom

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This article is about the U.S. court of appeals judge. For the philospher, see John Wisdom.
John Minor Wisdom
John Minor Wisdom
In office
1957 – 1977
Nominated by Dwight Eisenhower
Preceded by Wayne G. Borah
Succeeded by Alvin Benjamin Rubin
Born May 17, 1905(1905-05-17)
New Orleans, LA
Died May 15, 1999 (aged 93)
New Orleans, LA
Spouse Bonnie Stewart Mathews
Alma mater Tulane University

John Minor Wisdom (May 17, 1905 - May 15, 1999), one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a liberal Republican from Louisiana, was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during the 1950s and 1960s, when that court became known for a series of decisions crucial in advancing the civil rights of African-Americans. At that time, the Fifth Circuit included not only Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas (its jurisdiction since October 1, 1981), but also Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and the Panama Canal Zone.

President Eisenhower appointed Wisdom to the Fifth Circuit bench in 1957. He took senior status in 1977, but continued to hear cases until his death in 1999. President Bill Clinton awarded Wisdom the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993. On May 25, 1994, the Fifth Circuit's headquarters in New Orleans was renamed the John Minor Wisdom United States Court of Appeals Building.

As a young man, Wisdom was a Democrat, but he left that party in reaction to what he perceived as the corrupt administration of Louisiana governor Huey Long.

Judge Wisdom's former law clerks include U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander; Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Judge Martin Feldman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Professor Philip Frickey of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law; Ricki Tigert Helfer, former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Jack Weiss, newly appointed Chancellor of Paul M. Hebert Law Center; and Professor Barry Sullivan, former dean of the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Wisdom's official biography is being written by Professor Joel William Friedman of the Tulane University Law School. Several chapters of the biography have been serialized to date in various law journals.

Upon his death, Wisdom left all of his writings, papers, and a variety of other personal effects, to Tulane Law School, which now proudly displays them in the law school building Weinmann Hall.

A biography of Judge Wisdom is being published in January of 2009 by Louisiana State University Press.It is entitled Champion of Civil Rights: Judge John Minor Wisdom.ISBN 978-0-8071-3384-2

[edit] Quote

"The Constitution is both color blind and color conscious. To avoid conflict with the equal protection clause, a classification that denies a benefit, causes harm, or imposes a burden must not be based on race. In that sense the Constitution is color blind. But the Constitution is color conscious to prevent discrimination being perpetuated and to undo the effects of past discrimination. The criterion is the relevancy of color to a legitimate government purpose."

- Wisdom, writing for the majority in U.S. v. Jefferson County Board of Education, 1967.

[edit] External links