Unless the horizons are unlimited, we risk being governed by a set of prejudices of a bygone day. If we are restricted in art, religion, economics, political theory, or any other great field of knowledge, we may become victims of conformity in an age where salvation can be won only by nonconformity.
— William O. Douglas

by Doug Johnson

“Dear Mr. Douglas …”

was the first thing some high-school students wrote last September, and this started a journey of reflection for high-school juniors in Yakima, where William O. Douglas went to school. The journey for the students was into the world of court cases, hiking, and history. Since the U.S. Supreme Court Justice went to school at Davis High School, where these students study, one English teacher decided maybe it would be fun to write to Justice Douglas, as if he were “Emily” in the play Our Town. Between a student’s world of the Internet and MP3 players, trying to hook students into American literature and civics can be like trying to sell dental work without the use of anesthesia. The teacher thought this might work.

There were some other reasons the project seemed like a good idea. For one thing, it was simple. Writing quick notes to each other is something many students do. Another was that a newly inaugurated William O. Douglas hiking trail allowed the students to explore around the places that Douglas used to hike. Douglas also wrote Go East, Young Man, and Of Men and of Mountains, so the students were able to read his contribution to American literature, as they discovered other works.

So instead of just reading The Scarlet Letter, or writing a summary about the Dred Scott decision and Frederick Douglass’s essays on slavery, the students wrote to Justice Douglas each week asking his opinion on each week’s work in American literature class. This all would have been just another teacher gimmick that stayed in the classroom, except for one key component that made it real to the students — the Washington State Bar Association. With a group of 50 volunteer lawyers who agreed to write one or two letters to students, the American literature class became an informal exploration of the ideals and passions that motivated the writers of American literature to put their pens to the page. These volunteer lawyers accepted the letters and questions from these students, and, in responding back, they sparked learning that could have never taken place without community interaction.

The advantage to introducing students to all of these concepts is that they are coming at the ideas in literature, civics, and law for the first time. They do have a chance to believe in the ideals of the legal system. Thanks to the Washington State Bar Association, there was a direct impact on these students that took on a life of its own, because — not only were the students able to write to Justice Douglas — they were able to write to many people in Washington’s legal community.

There were other benefits to the students — not only did the legal community answer their questions about the literature, they took the chance to jot down notes of encouragement to the students about setting goals and college. Two of the lawyers even came to the classroom on their own time to speak to the students and tell their own personal stories of going to college and then becoming successful attorneys. All of this encouragement and special attention paid to the students provided them with voices of inspiration that might someday turn them toward college.

That’s a great shot in the arm for the students. Slogging through case law and court dates doesn’t paint the picture of a “horizon that is unlimited” for a typical lawyer in the trenches every day. Attorneys and judges struggle forward in the system holding to ideals that took hold of them somewhere in high school, or in a pre-law course, or maybe around the dinner table listening to Dad or Mom talking through some case. Whatever the case, lawyers were inspired at some point to make the world a better place by becoming — using the Latin term, advocatus — a person called to give evidence. These volunteers who wrote letters and spoke to the students provided evidence and a new perspective that may well spur some of the students on toward legal careers.

The letter writing and learning about Justice Douglas took on a life of its own, and pretty soon, the group of lawyer volunteers who wrote letters inspired other people to write the high-school juniors. Thanks to Jeremie DuFault, a recent Harvard Law graduate and Davis High School graduate, Douglas’s widow, Cathy Douglas-Stone, wrote to the students. David Rosenberg, of Harvard Law School, wrote the students. Stephen Wizner, of Yale Law School, wrote the students. Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justice Mary Fairhurst wrote the students. It expanded further — Dr. Andrew Soward, a Douglas scholar from the University of Idaho, wrote the students. All of these people wrote with similar themes encouraging students to stay in school and to pursue their dreams through hard work and study. The response was overwhelming and greatly encouraging.

The students learned not only about literature, but about the realities of the legal system, and the positive influence the legal community has on life in America. These students come from diverse backgrounds — Davis High School is more than 50 percent Hispanic. Some of the students don’t seek professional or academic careers. These letters helped alter the students’ perceptions of what their futures could be like, and for some of the students, what it means to be professional. Further than that, the project sparked one volunteer to offer a scholarship to the student who displayed the most potential to work hard like William O. Douglas. Because of that effort, even more scholarships have been generated.

The students, through their writing back and forth, were able to generate an exhibit at the Bar Leaders/Access to Justice Conference last June. The teacher hopes to repeat this project again with a new set of volunteer letter writers and some more students of American literature. From all the students from last year and especially the teacher — thanks.

Following are three letters from students and respondents.

Doug Johnson is an English teacher at A.C. Davis High School in Yakima. He is a Ph.D. candidate in educational psychology interested in legal issues related to poverty and education. He teaches as an adjunct professor at Heritage University and will have a constitutional analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act published in the Journal of Education and Public Society in 2007. He can be reached at johnson.doug@ysd.wednet.edu.

Dear Professor Wizner,

Hello! First of all, I’m going to introduce myself. My name is Flor Sanchez. I attend Davis High School in the state of Washington. I’m a junior in high school and I find school to be interesting. Most people hate school but I tend to like it. It helps me be whoever I want to be. It also helps me find out who I am and who I want to be in life. So I’m one of those teens who want to become someone in life to make a little bit of difference in the lives of those who are misguided by the bad things in the streets.

I have many goals I want to fulfill. My main goal in life is to attend a University that best fits my needs and wants. I want to major in law or medicine. Either one would make me a happy camper. I want to major in either of those careers because I want to help people economically and physically. My second goal is to have a family and care for them. But I don’t really worry about that yet because there’s plenty of time for that.

I know little about you and your career/job, it would be nice of you to talk about your life and your job. You’re a professor, so how does it differ from being a lawyer? What is it like to hold the same seat as William O. Douglas? William O. Douglas was a student here at Davis and later became a Federal Supreme Court Justice. He was a great person at heart and an excellent author. On behalf of the student body here at Davis, we are forever more thankful for him graduating from here. Do you have any personal stories or memories about Justice Douglas, if you ever got to know him or meet him?

In our class, we have learned the Latin phrase, “de novo” which means, “as if new” like in Spanish it means, “de nuevo.” Do you know if many cases get tried again after they go to appeal? I’m not very familiar with this phrase. But I do know what it means in Spanish because I’m Hispanic.

Well, I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule and reading my letter. I am forever more thankful and I will be waiting to hear from you.

Thank you,
Flor Sanchez

Dear Justice Alexander,

Hello, my name is Amanda Ullom and I am a student at Davis High School. I was asked by my Junior English teacher, Mr. Johnson, to ask you a few questions and I was wondering if you could answer a few for me.

. . .
On the subjects of courts, we recently learned in class about amicus curiae; meaning friend of the courts. Has there ever been a situation where you have used this method? It is my impression, that it is when you ask a fellow friend in the court what they would do, in a sort of “what if” circumstance. If this is true, I would probably use it frequently as it is a good means of guidance and a second opinion, two heads are better than one. Has anyone ever asked you for this type of advice or guidance?

If you had to give advice to a widowed woman who has been charged with adultery in a town where this is far from correct behavior, and is being told if she doesn’t tell who the father of her infant is, they will take her infant away … what would you say? This is the situation in the book we are currently reading titled The Scarlet Letter. The reason for such prosecution and punishment for this innocent woman having this child is due to the fact that the story takes place a long time ago. She is being laughed at and ridiculed by all of the town as if she is a clown at a child’s birthday party. It is all the community can talk about, and they all seem to be gathered at the jailhouse where she is being held until a final sentence can be made.

Do you make these final punishments? What exactly do you do as a Supreme Court Justice? I cannot say that I know much about what your job description entails, so a brief summary may help me to better understand what it is that you do. I was also wondering how long you have done this Supreme Court Justice gig? What made you decide to be this and what did you do before this? Finally, do you like your job? I was once told that you must live to work not work to live, and I strongly believe that.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read this letter and hopefully write me back.

Thanks again,
Amanda Ullom

Dear Students:

Thank you for your very nice letters and for your interest in our nation’s legal system. In response to your letters, let me indicate that I have chosen to address you collectively.

. . .

Many of you asked me to explain the term, “amicus curiae.” As some of you noted in your letters, amicus curiae is a Latin phrase, which means, “friend of the court.” The Latin meaning is fitting given that an amicus curiae brief is provided by someone who is not an actual party to a case. The purpose of such a brief is to provide information to assist the court in deciding an issue in the case. The information usually is a legal opinion on a point of law or some other aspect of the case.

The amicus curiae briefs that are filed in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington are very helpful. They assist us in understanding the legal issues in a case and what effect those issues have on the citizens of the state of Washington. The members of the court read each amicus curiae brief that is filed to make sure that he or she is familiar with all the arguments in a case.

I was pleased to learn that you are reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. While the pace of the book may seem a bit slow to modern readers, it is a classic of American literature. I certainly share the view that several of you expressed to the effect that Hester was badly treated by the community in which she lived. Although Hester is a fictional character, her travails symbolize the discrimination that other persons and groups have experienced and still experience. Hopefully, the book will cause the reader to be more tolerant and understanding of the difficulties that many people experience.

Several of you have asked me if it is stressful to serve as chief justice of the Washington State Supreme Court. I must say that I do not feel that the job is stressful. Although I work long hours and find myself challenged by decisions we are called upon to make, the work does not cause me to be stressed. I think that is so because I find my work interesting. I can truly say that I love my work. When one loves their work they will rarely be stressed by it.

. . .

I hope that the answers I have given to your questions are helpful to you. I am very pleased that you have evinced an interest in the issues underlying your questions.

Sincerely,
Gerry L. Alexander
Chief Justice, Washington State Supreme Court