Journal of Supreme Court History

Introduction Melvin I. Urofsky This issue is the first since the retire­ ment of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor from the Supreme Court. While history will note that she was the first woman appointed to the High Court, and that during her quarter­ century tenure she staked out an identifi­ able and influential jurisprudential position, we at the Supreme Court Historical Society will remember her as a friend who on many occasions helped us out, participated in our programs, and made valuable suggestions on projects she thought we should pursue. Per­ sonally, I recall how gracious she was to me when I gave my first talk at the Court, and during her introduction I was thinking how my mother would have swelled with pride to have her first-born introduced by none other than a Justice. While she is no longer an ac­ tive member of the Court, we hope she will remain a friend of the Society, and we are pleased to have in this issue tributes by her colleague on the Bench, Justice John Paul Stevens, Professor Craig Joyce, a member of the Journal's, Editorial Board, and by Deborah Jones Merritt, one of Justice O’Connor’s for­ mer clerks. The bulk of this issue is devoted to the lecture series the Society sponsored last year on Thomas Jefferson and the Supreme Court. While most history books note President Jefferson’s attack on the judicial system, cul­ minating in the attempted impeachment ofJus­ tice Samuel Chase, the speakers in the series— and the authors ofthese articles based on those talks—provide a great deal more nuance, and lookatdifferentaspects ofJefferson’s views to­ ward the Constitution, the courts, and areas in which all branches ofthe government became involved. While some speakers—such as your editor—are critical of Jefferson’s ideas, all agree that he left an imprint on early American constitutionalism that would notjust affect the immediate future, but in some ways remains part of this nation’s constitutional debate. Finally, the Court continues to draw schol­ arly attention, and Grier Stephenson brings us up to date on the latest ofthe important works dealing with the Court. v ...