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ix Foreword Federal courts play a very special role in the American democratic system. They have the responsibility under the Constitution of deciding those categories of cases that are deemed to touch on issues of national significance, for example , cases involving a federal statute or the Constitution, cases between states, cases where the United States is a party, and cases between citizens of different states. In deciding those cases that come before them, judges are not simply to preside over the proceedings; they also have the duty and responsibility to interpret the law, including the Constitution itself. Indeed, in Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton described federal judges as having a duty to be “faithful guardians of the Constitution.” As such, judges are responsible, among other things, for determining the constitutionality of legislative acts as well as actions by the executive branch, including the president of the United States. In order to carry out this responsibility, the Framers perceived a need for an independent judiciary. They provided that neither the executive nor the legislative branch would have sole authority over the appointment of judges, that the pay of judges could not be diminished while in office, and that judges would have lifetime appointments subject to good behavior. The view of the Framers in this regard has proven extremely wise. Since their inception, federal courts have been involved in deciding not just ordinary lawsuits, but some entailing the most volatile and intractable issues in society. Those issues have included the right to vote, racial and gender discrimination in various forms, the right to privacy (including abortion rights), separation of powers and executive privilege, freedom of religion and freedom of speech in various permutations, and public corruption. It is now hard to imagine how a federal judicial system—a system that must address such hot-button issues as well as antitrust, intellectual property, immigration, and myriad federal administrative law and state law issues—could carry out its responsibility with a cadre of judges worrying about whether they will be reelected or recalled. The federal judiciary has a proud history, in part due to its independence. Some of that history is well documented. However, because there are ninety-four trial courts in the federal judicial system, as well as thirteen circuit courts of appeal , including the federal circuit, and the Supreme Court, some of that history is little known by the general public or even by judges. In an effort to address x Foreword the lack of a formal history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, my predecessor as chief judge, James G. Carr, suggested a few years ago that we undertake a court history project. The first aspect of the project was an oral history, which has been completed. The other aspect is this book, which has now come to fruition under the leadership of Paul Finkelman and Roberta Alexander. We are grateful that these two experienced legal historians were willing to serve as editors, to choose the authors of the various chapters, and to contribute chapters of their own. We are indebted to our colleagues Dan Aaron Polster, who served as our primary contact with the editors and publisher, and David D. Dowd Jr. and Lesley Wells, who provided ideas and gave insightful feedback on some of the chapters. We also owe special thanks to Geri Smith, clerk of court; Irene Milan, Sixth Circuit satellite librarian; Dave Zendlo of our automation department; and Melanie Walsh, secretary to the clerk and deputy clerk, all of whom provided invaluable assistance in gathering relevant information. We agreed with the editors that the book would not be about individual judges but about the history of the court, as revealed in some of the interesting and important cases that have been decided by this court from its inception in 1855 until the present. In so doing, we recognized that space and other limitations would necessarily cause perhaps equally interesting and important cases to go undiscussed. It was our hope that the cases chosen and the stories told through them would shed light on the work of the court as a whole and the fifty-four men and women who have served as judges on it. I think this volume does that well. The court is proud of its history and the role it has played in the nation and its judicial system, as well as in the state and region it serves, as reflected by these cases. As...

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