Meeting Justice Stephen Breyer by C. Ellen Connally

There will be many things said about Justice Stephen Breyer now that his forthcoming retirement from the United States Supreme Court has been announced.

There will be talk of his outstanding academic careers at Stanford, the University of  Oxford and Harvard University College of Law. With these exceptional credentials he became a clerk for Justice Arthur Goldberg of the United States Supreme Court and a law professor at Harvard. He served in the United States Army Reserve; in the Justice Department; as special counsel for the Watergate Commission; and special counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee before becoming a federal appeals court judge and then Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court — appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994.

One of the little-known facts about Breyer is that in the summer of 1964, he was a fact checker for the Warren Commission — the commission appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. His job was to verify information in the commission report and to check footnotes and other citations.

In the great scheme of his legal career, being a fact checker may seem like a very insignificant task. But this was a presidential commission that was appointed to investigate one of the most significant events of the 20th century — the assassination of a president. For those remaining members of the Warren Commission staff, like Cleveland’s Retired Judge Burt W. Griffin, Breyer’s contribution means a great deal.

The fact that someone of Breyer’s credibility contributed to and verified the staff’s research shows that those who did the research and wrote the report were dedicated  investigators who sought to get the facts surrounding the death of President John F. Kennedy and his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald correct. Contrary to the world of conspiracy theorists, most of whom have spent decades attacking the finding of the Warren Commission, the commission got it right. Lee Harvey Oswald was Kennedy’s sole assassin.

Judge Griffin vividly recalls, as a young lawyer and newly appointed staff member, meeting with Chief Justice Earl Warren. Warren’s instruction to the researchers, still grieving over the loss of President Kennedy, was that their “only client was the truth.” With that in mind the 14 lawyers and 12 staff members worked with the nine members of the Warren Commission to compile their report, which released in September of 1964.

In 2014, Cleveland lawyer and filmmaker Todd Kwait began work on a documentary about the surviving members of the Warren Commission staff. In researching this project, Kwait arranged an interview with Justice Breyer to discuss his duties while working for the commission. The interview took place in November of 2015.

As a part of the research team, I had the opportunity to join Kwait and his film crew, along with Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan, who conducted the interview, to go to Washington D.C. and meet Justice Breyer. The interview was held at a film studio in downtown Washington.

Justice Breyer arrived, accompanied by two members of the Supreme Court Marshall’s office. He was friendly and gracious, taking pictures with all those present. He took time to sign his latest book, which we rushed out to buy at  a nearby bookstore. He spent time chatting with everyone there and was one of the most down-to-earth and pleasant persons I have ever met. It was a great honor to be in his presence.

Watching the documentary will give you a chance to learn about this little-known aspect of Justice Breyer’s career and his opinions about the facts and circumstances of the death of President Kennedy. It will also allow you the opportunity to hear the fascinating story of how a Cleveland lawyer — Burt Griffin —  became a  part of history by working on the Warren Commission. Just another little-known side of Cleveland’s rich history.

Breyer’s interview is a part of the documentary The Truth Is the Only Client: The Official Investigation into the Murder of President John F. Kennedy. Available on tubitv.com/movies/592441, Amazon Prime or You Tube.

For further reading about the workings of the Warren Commission I recommend History Will Prove Us Right – Inside the Warren Commission Report on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy by Howard P. Willens. (The Overlook Press, New York, NY 2013)

A Cruel and Shocking  Act – The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination by Philip Shenon (Henry Holt and Co., New York, NY 2013)

C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection, is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission and president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.

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One Response to “Meeting Justice Stephen Breyer by C. Ellen Connally”

  1. Steven McQuillin

    It’s somewhat ironic that in 1979, a special U. S. House of Representatives committee chaired by Congressman Louis Stokes of Cleveland said “there was a high probability” of a conspiracy in Kennedy’s assassination.

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