Presidential Papers, Doc#1362 Personal To William Pierce Rogers, 4 November 1959. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Doc #1363

Document #1362; November 4, 1959
To William Pierce Rogers
Series: EM, AWF, Name Series ; Category: Personal
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XX - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace
Part VIII: "Friends and Foes"; September 1959 to February 1960
Chapter 19: Khrushchev in America

 

Dear Bill: Attached is a letter from my brother about Judge John R. Dethmers of Michigan, together with a copy of my reply (which was prepared on the basis of information secured from the Deputy Attorney General).1

It is my understanding that Judge Walsh assumes Ed’s information is incorrect, since no inquiry has been made by you to the American Bar Association regarding Judge Dethmers.2 Even so, I still think there is a possibility that Ed may be right in his report on the conclusion of the ABA.3

At any rate, here’s the exchange of letters.

With warm regard, As ever

1 Edgar Eisenhower had written on October 30 (AWF/N) in support of the appointment of Judge Dethmers to the Michigan Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Dethmers (LL.B. University of Michigan 1927) had served as Michigan Attorney General from 1945 - 1946, when he was appointed to the Michigan Superior Court. Edgar had said that the American Bar Association’s committee on the selection of federal judges had told him that Dethmers was their first choice for that appointment. Eisenhower’s November 4 reply to Edgar, promising to discuss the appointment with the Attorney General, is in AWF/N.

2 Eisenhower was referring to Judge Lawrence Edward Walsh (LL.B. Columbia University 1935), who had been appointed U.S. Deputy Attorney General in 1957. Walsh had served as a district court judge in the Southern District of New York from 1954 - 1957. A memorandum from Ann Whitman (n.d., AWF/N) stated that: "Jerry Morgan says that Ed’s information must be incorrect; that Justice has never submitted Dethmers’ name to the Bar Association. He also said Dethmers organized a group of state supreme court justices to criticize the Supreme Court a few years ago." As it turned out, Dethmers would not receive the appointment; he would instead be appointed Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (see New York Times, Jan. 15, 1960).

3 Eisenhower had written on the memorandum from Whitman: "In any event send Ed’s letter for Atty Gen. attention. He deserves as much courtesy as we give anyone else. I don’t see why the ABA could not say this -- even if Justice has not made an inquiry."

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. Personal To William Pierce Rogers, 4 November 1959. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 1362. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/1362.cfm

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