Legal Commentary

M. Blane Michael, a judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, passed away on Friday.  As one of his former clerks, I am incredibly sad at this news.  Judge Michael was one of the most decent and honorable people I have ever met.  He was beloved by all on the Fourth Circuit, no matter the political stripe -- he got along fabulously with Judge Luttig, despite their frequent clashes on the page, and he frequently went jogging with Judge Wilkinson during court week.  At the same time, he was an eloquent advocate for his positions.  He was one of the best writers I've known, constantly reworking drafts to make the writing seem effortless.  He worked hard and expected the same from his clerks. I remember one time he gently chastised me for "letting the flag touch the ground;" this chiding was the closest he came to rebuke.  He was modest in a genuine way and had a true sense of proportion.  He would often say that his job was less important than the county justice of the peace, and you could see that he meant it, because he was thinking of the importance of the job to the average person.  But he did not shrink from a challenge or duck a fight.  His position on the court made many of his best opinions into dissents, and he bore this role with grace.  I thought this interchange from the NYU alumni magazine illustrated his perspective:

??Q: Have you ever come across any law that you felt you were bound to enforce, but you also thought to be unjust?

A: I will duck this question because it is my duty to apply settled law, and it is usually best to do that without griping.

The Charleston Gazette has more information here.  Here's a 2003 NYT Magazine article, "The Power of the Fourth," on the circuit's more controversial days.  Here is Judge Michael's Madison Lecture at NYU in 2009.  And here's a post on a 2005 clerk's reunion from my co-clerk Vic Fleischer. 

Judge Michael will be deeply missed.