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: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81058982
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 J. Skelly Wright were deposited in the Library of Congress by Wright in 1979 and converted to a gift in 1987. An addition was received in 1988.
The papers of J. Skelly Wright were arranged and described by Connie L. Cartledge in 1990. The finding aid was revised by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Michael W. Giese in 2003. Additional material, received in 1988, was processed by Rachel Telford in 2023.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of J. Skelly Wright in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of J. Skelly Wright 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, J. Skelly Wright Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of James Skelly Wright (1911-1988) span the years 1933-1987, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1948 to 1986. The papers document Wright's career as a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, 1949-1962, and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 1962-1987. The papers consist of six series: General Correspondence, United States District Court File, United States Court of Appeals File, Speeches and Writings File, Miscellany, and 2023 Addition.
The General Correspondence series includes incoming and outgoing correspondence relating to Wright's professional and personal interests. Much of the correspondence from 1962 through 1987 is from members of the legal profession and relates to professional matters.
The United States District Court File is divided into four subseries: General Correspondence, Case File, Opinions, and Office Files. The chronological files in the General Correspondence subseries contain incoming and outgoing correspondence pertaining mainly to district court matters. The latter part of this subseries, segregation correspondence, consists of letters to Wright about his civil rights decisions from 1956 through 1962. These letters reflect the deep emotional anguish felt by not only the people of Louisiana, but individuals throughout the United States.
The Case File
subseries, arranged chronologically by date of last court action, constitutes the bulk
of the district court series and consists primarily of papers relating to cases that
came before Wright as a judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Also included,
however, are case files documenting Wright's service as a visiting judge for other
circuits, mainly the Southern District Court of New York, and a few cases about which
Wright made no decisions but were of interest to him. Both the Case File and the Opinions subseries reflect the wide range of
cases that came before the Eastern District Court during Wright's thirteen-year tenure.
Two areas in which Wright was considered particularly adept were maritime law and civil
rights. The latter brought him into national prominence with his decision in 1960 on
Papers in the Office Files subseries include correspondence, memoranda, opinions, notes, charges to juries, and reports documenting Wright's administrative activities and his involvement in judicial conferences and local law institutes.
The United States Court of Appeals File constitutes over half of the collection. This series documents Wright's twenty-five years of service as a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and his six years on the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals. Papers in this series are divided into the following subseries: Case File, Opinions, and Office Files.
The Case File subseries
includes correspondence and memoranda (chiefly between the judges, the court clerk, and
lawyers), briefs, opinions, orders, writs, petitions, vote sheets, notes, background
information, clippings, and printed matter. Cases are arranged chronologically by court
term beginning in September of each year and therein alphabetically by case. There are,
however, exceptions to this order such as opinions and other documents generated after
the court term ended in June. This material is usually filed in the previous court term,
i.e., an opinion written in August 1979 would be filed in the September term of 1978.
Case sheets, organized chronologically by calendar year as Wright's staff arranged them,
precede the cases and provide a detailed summary of Wright's caseload. The majority of
his files pertain to criminal cases and cases involving federal regulatory agencies.
Although known for being a champion of civil liberties in criminal justice cases and a
proponent of equal justice for the poor, Wright had the most impact in the area of civil
rights. His decision in
Papers in the Opinions subseries include published opinions written by Wright and also lists indicating authorship of opinions and case assignments for the District of Columbia Circuit Court. The opinions are arranged chronologically by year, and located in the first folder of each year is an index identifying the names and subjects of cases heard by Wright.
The Office Files subseries relates to Wright's administrative duties and professional activities during his tenure on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals of the United States. The files reflect Wright's activities in such areas as judicial conferences and councils, investiture ceremonies, and moot court.
The Speeches and Writings File documents Wright's busy schedule as a speaker and writer. Appearing primarily before law classes and legal conferences, Wright's speech files consist chiefly of typescripts and background information, although many of his speeches contain handwritten notations. The majority of the correspondence relates to scheduling matters for speaking engagements. The writings contain book reviews and articles written primarily for legal journals.
The Miscellany series includes correspondence, memoranda, financial papers, teaching materials, photographs, clippings, and printed matter. The majority of the series focuses on Wright's law classes as a professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, 1951-1961, and his early career as a notary public, 1936-1942.
The 2023 Addition primarily documents Wright's service on the United States Court of Appeals, and contains additional case files and office files. The case files largely document cases involving federal agencies and pertain to a variety of topics, including redress for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, the Freedom of Information Act, and various regulatory issues. A small United States District Court file contains material relating to opinions issued by that court.
Among the most significant and frequent of Wright's correspondents are Robert Andrew Ainsworth, Jack Bass, Hugo LaFayette Black, Wayne G. Borah, H. Payne Breazeale, John Robert Brown, Ben Franklin Cameron, Robert Coles, Herbert William Christenberry, Kenneth Culp Davis, Eberhard P. Deutsch, Susan Estrich, Abe Fortas, G. W. Foster (1919- ), John Paul Frank, Fred W. Friendly, Joseph C. Hutcheson (1879-1973), J. Edward Lumbard, Sidney C. Mize, Lee Mortimer, Thomas F. Murphy, Frank T. Read, Eugene V. Rostow, Ralph Slovenko, and Simon Ernest Sobeloff.
This collection is arranged in six series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81058982
Correspondence with friends, acquaintances, family, colleagues, and the general public, including attachments and enclosures such as clippings and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or name of person or institution and chronologically therein.
Correspondence and memoranda, including attachments and enclosures, between Wright and judges, lawyers, and the general public relating to his judicial duties.
Arranged chronologically with correspondence relating to segregation matters filed at the end.
Correspondence, memoranda, briefs, opinions, notes, case sheets, clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged chronologically by calendar year and therein alphabetically, although case sheets for the years 1949-1954 are filed as a group at the beginning of the subseries.
Opinions, written primarily by Wright, consisting chiefly of typescripts, although files of later years also include final printed copies. Opinions written by Wright and others on segregation cases are filed separately.
Arranged chronologically by calendar year. An alphabetical index precedes the opinions.
Correspondence, memoranda, opinions, speeches, charges to juries, background information, notes, reports, clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Correspondence, memoranda, briefs, opinions, orders, writs, petitions, vote sheets, background information, notes, case sheets, clippings and printed matter pertaining to Wright's duties as a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals.
Arranged chronologically by court term, although alphabetically arranged case sheets precede the cases.
Opinions by Wright, including lists indicating Wright's case assignments, and opinions of the full court.
Arranged chronologically by year, although lists of opinions by both Wright and the appeals court precede Wright's opinions.
Correspondence, memoranda, speeches, meeting agendas, reports, notes, personnel files, background information, clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Correspondence, speeches, articles, book reviews, notes, research material, lists, clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, financial papers, teaching materials, photographs, clippings and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Case files and office files documenting Wright's service on the United States Court of Appeals and material relating to opinions issued by the United States District Court.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material. Case files arranged chronologically by court term and alphabetically thereunder.