Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2008085429
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of John Garrett Penn, judge, were given to the Library of Congress by his wife, Ann Penn, in 2008-2009.
Sound recordings and one videocassette have been transferred to the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Division where they are identified as part of the John Garrett Penn Papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of John Garrett Penn in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for further information.
The papers of John Garrett Penn are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, John Garrett Penn Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of John Garrett Penn (1932-2007) span the years 1918-2007 with the bulk of the material dating from 1971 to 1999. The majority of the papers document Penn's career as a judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, 1970-1979, and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 1979-2007. The papers are in English and are organized into the following series: Correspondence, Superior Court File, United States District Court File, and Miscellany.
The Correspondence, 1979-2007, consists primarily of incoming letters, memoranda, postcards, and email to Penn from colleagues, friends, family, court staff, and the public. Most of the correspondence relates to Penn's activities as a superior court judge and a federal district court judge.
The Superior Court File, 1970-1979, chronicles Penn's service as a judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The bulk of the series is comprised of bench books and a file of orders, opinions, and other rulings of the local court. The bench books contain Penn's handwritten notes about the cases that came before him. Files in the orders, opinions, and other rulings document his judgments on a variety of issues including civil, criminal, family, and tax matters. The series also includes substantive files pertaining to two cases,
The files in United States District Court File, 1918-2007, document Penn's tenure on that court from 1979-2007, and his service as chief judge from 1992 to 1997. The United States District Court File is arranged into four groups: bench books, cases, office file, and opinions, orders, and other rulings. The majority of the district court papers relate to a few cases. The largest amount of material pertains to
The office files in the United States District Court File relate to Penn's administrative and professional duties as a district judge. The majority of the office files chronicle his activities with the Judicial Conference of the District of Columbia Circuit and the Judicial Conference of the United States. Files in the orders, opinions, and other rulings are comprised of a chronological file documenting Penn's findings on a variety of issues including civil and criminal matters falling under federal jurisdiction and originating in the District of Columbia.
The Miscellany series, 1954-2006, includes notebooks from Penn's tenure as a law student at the Boston University School of Law and his participation at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Also represented in this series are some of Penn's speeches located in the speech and engagement files. In a speech for Black History Month in February 1993, Penn discusses the impact that Thurgood Marshall had on him and the civil rights movement.
This collection is arranged in four series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2008085429
Chiefly incoming letters, memoranda, postcards, and paper copies of email to Penn from colleagues, friends, family, court staff, and the public relating mainly to Penn's professional activities.
Arranged in two groups: chronological file and email and therein chronologically by date.
Correspondence, memoranda, bench books, orders, opinions, briefs, motions, notes, appointment books, clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic and therein alphabetically or chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, bench books, orders, opinions, briefs, motions, exhibits, trial transcripts, depositions, reports, testimony, notes, clippings, printed matter, and other material.
Arranged alphabetically into four groups: bench books; cases; office file; and opinions, orders, and other rulings, and therein alphabetically or chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, speeches and writings, biographical material, business cards, and notebooks.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.