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Smith V. Daily Mail Publishing Co. (1978)

 

Document 1

From: Warren E. Burger
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: May 18th, 1979
Action: Majority Opinion
This refers to a majority opinion draft

Document 2

From: Byron R. White
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: Conference
On: May 22nd, 1979
Action: Join Majority Opinion
Memos where a justice joins the majority opinion includes please join me; I agree; I am still with you; I acquiesce; I will go along; I dissent but will be silent; graveyard join or dissent. This code includes join of memorandum opinions if it is written by the assigned author, orders if it disposes of case, decrees, per curiam opinions. It also includes statements that the justice joins, but subject to what others might write.

Document 3

From: John Paul Stevens
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: Conference
On: May 22nd, 1979
Action: Join Majority Opinion
Memos where a justice joins the majority opinion includes please join me; I agree; I am still with you; I acquiesce; I will go along; I dissent but will be silent; graveyard join or dissent. This code includes join of memorandum opinions if it is written by the assigned author, orders if it disposes of case, decrees, per curiam opinions. It also includes statements that the justice joins, but subject to what others might write.

Document 4

From: Warren E. Burger
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: May 23rd, 1979
Action: Majority Opinion
This refers to a majority opinion draft

Document 5

From: Harry A. Blackmun
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: Conference
On: May 25th, 1979
Action: Join Majority Opinion
Memos where a justice joins the majority opinion includes please join me; I agree; I am still with you; I acquiesce; I will go along; I dissent but will be silent; graveyard join or dissent. This code includes join of memorandum opinions if it is written by the assigned author, orders if it disposes of case, decrees, per curiam opinions. It also includes statements that the justice joins, but subject to what others might write.

Document 6

From: Warren E. Burger
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: June 6th, 1979
Action: Majority Opinion
This refers to a majority opinion draft

Document 7

From: William H. Rehnquist
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: June 7th, 1979
Action: Concur in Judgment
This refers to an opinion draft that concurs in the judgment or result

Document 8

From: William J. Brennan, Jr.
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: Conference
On: June 11th, 1979
Action: Suggestion to Majority Opinion
This includes memo with broad statements including that a justice cannot join the opinion, cannot join a part of the opinion, does not agree with the opinion, or has continuing doubts with the opinion; memos that indicate that the author's change is not enough; memos that make suggestions for specific changes to majority opinion or that express reservations about some aspect of the majority opinion; this code is also given for suggestions to memorandum opinions by an assigned author

Document 9

From: Warren E. Burger
To: William J. Brennan, Jr.
Copied: None
On: June 11th, 1979
Action: Majority Opinion Author's Response
May be response to a suggestion, reservation, or a separate opinion; may also say that author will respond to another opinion; may state majority opinion author's change to opinion that was not prompted by another justice; may indicate that the opinion is different from the conference discussion; may be a circulation of a portion of the opinion (a footnote, multiple pages without circulating the whole opinion); may be a suggestion from the majority opinion author regarding several options for changing majority opinion; may be a suggestion from the author for a change that could be made to opinion

Document 10

From: William J. Brennan, Jr.
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: None
On: June 12th, 1979
Action: Join Majority If...
Justice sends memo to majority opinion author that states that the conditions under which the justice can or will not join the majority opinion; this includes memos with language like will join if..., will join the majority opinion if author makes changes suggested by another justice, or will join part of majority opinion if...; these memos may also state that a justice cannot join majority opinion if..., or could not join an opinion with a particular point, will withdraw join if...

Document 11

From: William H. Rehnquist
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: June 13th, 1979
Action: Concur in Judgment
This refers to an opinion draft that concurs in the judgment or result

Document 12

From: Warren E. Burger
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: June 13th, 1979
Action: Majority Opinion
This refers to a majority opinion draft

Document 13

From: Potter Stewart
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: Conference
On: June 13th, 1979
Action: Join Majority Opinion
Memos where a justice joins the majority opinion includes please join me; I agree; I am still with you; I acquiesce; I will go along; I dissent but will be silent; graveyard join or dissent. This code includes join of memorandum opinions if it is written by the assigned author, orders if it disposes of case, decrees, per curiam opinions. It also includes statements that the justice joins, but subject to what others might write.

Document 14

From: William J. Brennan, Jr.
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: Conference
On: June 13th, 1979
Action: Join Majority Opinion
Memos where a justice joins the majority opinion includes please join me; I agree; I am still with you; I acquiesce; I will go along; I dissent but will be silent; graveyard join or dissent. This code includes join of memorandum opinions if it is written by the assigned author, orders if it disposes of case, decrees, per curiam opinions. It also includes statements that the justice joins, but subject to what others might write.

Document 15

From: Warren E. Burger
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: June 20th, 1979
Action: Majority Opinion
This refers to a majority opinion draft

Document 16

From: Thurgood Marshall
To: Warren E. Burger
Copied: Conference
On: June 20th, 1979
Action: Join Majority Opinion
Memos where a justice joins the majority opinion includes please join me; I agree; I am still with you; I acquiesce; I will go along; I dissent but will be silent; graveyard join or dissent. This code includes join of memorandum opinions if it is written by the assigned author, orders if it disposes of case, decrees, per curiam opinions. It also includes statements that the justice joins, but subject to what others might write.

Document 17

From: William H. Rehnquist
To: Conference
Copied: None
On: June 21st, 1979
Action: Concur in Judgment
This refers to an opinion draft that concurs in the judgment or result