Newark usually is a bit far afield for us here at MorristownGreen.com. But Morristown has lots of lawyers, and quite a few people of Irish heritage, too, who might want to make a lunchtime trip on Thursday to the Essex County Hall of Records.
Harvard scholar Laurence Tribe will speak at the dedication of a statue depicting the late Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. Justice Brennan, a native of Newark, is famed for decisions in landmark civil rights, libel law, free speech and voting rights cases:
“Through his 1,360 opinions — many of them masterpieces of reason and craftsmanship — Justice Brennan played the pivotal role in . . . building an enduring edifice of common sense and uncommon wisdom that transformed the landscape of America,” Professor Tribe has written.
Justice Brennan’s sharp mind was complemented by a warm and loving spirit; janitors and justices received the same respect, according to the acclaimed scholar.
“If Chief Justice John Marshall was the chief architect of a powerful national government, then Justice William Brennan was the principal architect of the nation’s system for protecting individual rights… What drove him were passion and compassion, insight and empathy, and a dream of a Constitution of, by and for the people.”
In addition to Professor Tribe, the noontime event will feature:
- Stuart Rabner, chief justice of the N.J. Supreme Court
- Breandan O’Caollai, Ireland’s deputy consul general in New York
- Joseph DiVincenzo, Essex County executive
- Newark Mayor Cory Booker
- Nancy Brennan, Justice Brennan’s daughter
The U.S. Postal Service also will have a second-day-of-issue ceremony for the Justice Brennan stamp, which was issued in Washington DC, last September. The Hall of Records is at 465 Martin Luther King Blvd. For more details, call: 973-621-4400.