Interview with Paul A. Freund, October 18, 1982

Interview Summary

Paul Freund worked for Stanley Reed while Reed served on the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Freund opens his interview with a discussion of the Gold Clause cases ? specifically the Missouri bonds held by the Banker's Trust Company, Norman v. Baltimore Ohio Railroad Co., and Perry v. United States. Then he discusses the National Labor Relations Board cases. He also mentions the Bankhead Cotton Control Act of 1934, United States v. Butler, A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Next, Freund describes his duties as a clerk, which included doing research, writing memos, and consulting with staff at the Department of the Treasury. When Reed took the Solicitor General position, Freund became his assistant, writing briefs and reviewing petitions of certiorari. Freund comments on Reed's relationships with Louis Brandeis, Homer Cummings, Jay Crawford Biggs, Learned Hand, Harlan Stone, Benjamin Cardozo, Hugo Black, Robert Jackson, and Alger Hiss. Other topics he mentions include the time constraints on arguing a case before the Supreme Court, Justice Reed's political philosophy, Reed's views on civil liberties and criminal procedure, and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.

Interview Keyword

Alger Hiss Carl McFarland Commerce Clause. Cambridge Crawford Biggs Dean Acheson Eugene Black Federal Reserve System Gold Cases Herbert Hoover administration Homer Cummings Jesse Jones Jury lawyers Justice Louis Brandeis Massachusetts Rice diets Senator Alben W. Barkley Tom Corcoran Treasury Department Trial lawyers Warner Gardner Great Depression Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) Justice Stanley Reed Gold Clause bonds President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Interview LC Subject

Freund, Paul A. (Paul Abraham), 1908-1992 Freund, Paul A. (Paul Abraham), 1908-1992--Interviews Judges--United States United States--Politics and government United States. Supreme Court Reed, Stanley Forman, 1884-1980 Courts Law New Deal, 1933-1939. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 Depressions--1929 United States. Solicitor General.

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.