Interview with Joseph Barbash, May 15, 1981
Project: Stanley F. Reed Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Joseph Barbash, one of Justice Reed's former law clerks, worked alongside fellow clerk Bayless Manning. In this interview, he discusses the duties of Reed's clerks, which included reviewing and commenting on petitions of certiorari. Next, he describes Reed's card catalog, a system the justice designed to keep track of his questions and observations about cases. Barbash also mentions the changes that occurred in the Supreme Court during his clerkship: Sherman Minton and Thomas Clark joined the Court as a result of the death of Frank Murphy and the retirement of Wiley Rutledge. Barbash recalls working on the following cases: Sweatt v. Painter, McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, the Restricted Carpenters cases, and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. He comments on Reed's views regarding segregation and the Fifth Amendment, and goes on to mention Edward Prichard, Fred Vinson, and Harold Burton. He ends the interview by discussing the annual dinners held for the law clerks.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Earl Warren Frank Murphy Hugo Black Robert Jackson Sherman Minton Tom C. Clark Wiley Rutledge William O. Douglas Ed Prichard Fifth Amendment Harvard Law School Helen Gaylord Jersey City Journalism Judge Hand Law clerks Law Review Learned Hand Mac Asbill Political science Rice diet Rutgers University White Pony Supreme Court Segregation Maysville (Ky.)Interview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Barbash, Joseph Interview by Terry L. Birdwhistell. 15 May. 1981. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Barbash, J. (1981, May 15). Interview by T. L. Birdwhistell. Stanley F. Reed Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Barbash, Joseph, interview by Terry L. Birdwhistell. May 15, 1981, Stanley F. Reed Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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