Day 15: A Letter to Someone You Would Like to Meet

Dear Justice Thurgood Marshall:
You are one of my heroes. I admire what you accomplished, but I also admire that you worked so hard to accomplish it and that you kept trying, despite failure. For me, it is as important that you represented young, penniless men accused of heinous crimes because of their skin color, and lost, as it is that you argued Brown v. Board of Education and won. I would ask about those days when you lost. How did you continue? What did you learn? What would you change?

I would ask about your life on the Supreme Court. What was it like to be the first? What great weight of responsibility you must have felt. Did you feel triumph at the changes you were able to effect or tragedy at those that remained the same despite their injustice? How did you feel the day you dissented to Wilbert Evans' sentence of death through a denied writ? Every time a death penalty case came before the Court, whether the Court agreed to hear it or not, you dissented, never giving up hope nor surrendering your position. Do you think it will ever be abolished? I suppose that has no bearing on your position. Popular or not, you held to your ideals.

Once I met a lawyer named Joseph McCarthy (no, not that Joseph McCarthy) who defended indigent criminals. He talked of the tragedy of being caught up in the system at all. Once someone needs a defense lawyer, guilty or not, we've all lost and there is no winning for anyone. He had such dignity and poise defending a client who wanted him fired. I was fascinated to learn that earlier in life he had helped prosecute wrongful convictions. Perhaps that is why he seemed tired and sad, though still eloquent, determined and dedicated to his work. Our brief encounter changed my approach to my profession. I imagine speaking with you would be equally illuminating and life altering.

Today I decided to read your biography. I'm not really a reader of biographies, but I think yours will be worth it. It will not, I expect, replace the conversation I would like to have, but it will have to do.

Best regards,
Melanie McKay, Esq.