Page 59 - ACTL_Sum23

Some motherly duties were more challenging than others. How do you get Stephen to read less and socialize more? Quite a challenge. His achievements at dancing school were limited to the recognition that he was “Most Improved Dancer,” an award he won in two successive years. Had there been a third year of instruction, from which he certainly would have benefitted, he probably would have retired the trophy. He was encouraged to join the high school soccer team, helped no doubt by the fact that our father had arranged for the school to practice on the University of San Francisco field. Stephen did score one goal that season. Regrettably, it was for the opponent. Our neighborhood public high school primarily focused on academics. While it had illus- trious alumni — Carol Channing (Hello, Dolly!), Alexander Calder (artist), Rube Gold- berg (cartoonist), Dian Fossey (primatologist), Rick Levin (President of Yale), two Nobel Prize winners, and a multitude of judges — it was open to all students in the city, no ad- mission tests, no quotas. Most, but not all, of its graduates attended college. Stephen was accepted at both Harvard and Stanford. Our parents worried that Harvard would focus him entirely on academics, while at Stanford he could also explore other pursuits. Stephen went to Stanford, and I suspect they were correct. All in all, Stephen’s childhood was rather “Ozzie and Harriet,” with an emphasis on work ethic and community involvement. So the ’60s posed a challenge to Stephen’s worldview. He was twenty-five when President Ken- nedy was assassinated. It shook him, as it did all of us, but he remained optimistic. As the decade wore on, our nation’s troubles came into fuller view: the Vietnam War and the anti-war protests, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the riots in De- troit and across the country. Only a few years later, Stephen would learn of the Pentagon Papers and then of Watergate. The President had directed wiretaps of reporters, IRS hit lists of political enemies, burglaries of citizens’ offices, and the payment of hush money to obstruct justice. Stephen had a pragmatic response: to join the Special Prosecutor’s Office as an advisor to Archibald Cox. As a lawyer, Stephen had great faith that the toolkit of constitutional rights — including free speech, free press, Fourth Amendment protections, and the principle that no person was above the law — could make our institutions work better. The successful conclusion of the Watergate inquiry reinforced that belief. Stephen has brought to his work an optimistic view of our country, tempered by pragmatic considerations as to how problems are solved within our governmental framework. To that outlook, he adds old jokes, old songs, old movies, and a wonderful ability to listen to others and not judge. I am so very fortunate to have him as my best friend. _________________________________________ It would be out of character if I didn’t also say something about myself. I am truly honored to be published in the Harvard Law Review. I ask only that the admissions office update my application, as I haven’t heard much since being placed on the wait-list in 1963. SUMMER 2023 JOURNAL 58