Henry J. Friendly Medal

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The Henry J. Friendly Medal is an award given periodically by the American Law Institute (ALI) in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of law. [1] [2] It is named in honor of Judge Henry Friendly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. [3] [4] The medal is conferred to an individual for their contributions "in the tradition of Judge Friendly." [5]

Contents

The award is reserved to some of the most influential modern jurists, including Judge Merrick Garland, and U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and John Roberts. [6] It is the most prestigious award given by the ALI. [7]

Background

The Friendly Medal was established by Judge Friendly's former law clerks after his death. [8] Friendly had been a member of the American Law Institute's council. [9] The medal initially featured a likeness of Friendly smiling, but was changed as the judge rarely smiled. [10] It is given by the American Law Institute Awards Committee. [8]

Prize

The medal is only awarded as appropriate and not on an annual basis. [11] The award has been described as "prestigious" and "reserved for recipients who are considered especially worthy of receiving it." [12] It is one of the highest honors given by the ALI, [13] and is not limited to the organization's members. [14] In 1992, Judge Michael Boudin of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit was the chair of the awarding committee. [15] After it was established, Edward Weinfeld, a close friend of Judge Friendly, traveled in person to be the first to receive the award before dying a day later. [16]

Recipients

YearImageRecipientTitleRef
1988 Edward Weinfeld (1901–1988)Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York [17]
1989 Paul A. Freund (1908–1992)Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard Law School [3]
1993 Herbert Wechsler (1909–2000)Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School [18]
2000 William Thaddeus Coleman - Cabinet meeting.jpg William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (1920–2017)Judge of the United States Court of Military Commission Review [7]
2002 Anthony Lewis discussion, RIT NandE Vol17Num4 1985 Oct24 Complete (Lewis crop).jpg Anthony Lewis (1927–2013)James Madison Chair at Columbia University [19]
Kissel Lecture in Ethics with Linda Greenhouse (cropped) (cropped).jpg Linda Greenhouse (1947–)Joseph M. Goldstein Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School
2005 Ronald Dworkin at the Brooklyn Book Festival.jpg Ronald Dworkin (1931–2013)Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New York University [3]
Richard Posner at Harvard University.jpg Richard Posner (1939–)Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
2009 Portrait officiel de Nicholas Katzenbach.jpg Nicholas Katzenbach (1922–2012)24th United States Under Secretary of State
65th United States Attorney General
[8]
2011 Sandra Day O'Connor crop.jpg Sandra Day O'Connor (1930–2023) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [8]
2013 William H. Webster 2016.jpg William H. Webster (1924–)14th Director of Central Intelligence
3rd Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
[3]
2014 Michael Boudin.jpg Michael Boudin (1939–) Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [3]
Pierre Leval (1936–) Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
2016 Patricia McGowan Wald.jpg Patricia Wald (1928–2019) Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Justice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
[3]
2017 Conrad.Harper424.jpg Conrad K. Harper (1940–)President of the New York City Bar Association [20]
2018 Ruth Bader Ginsburg 2016 portrait.jpg Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [21]
2019 Anthony Kennedy official SCOTUS portrait.jpg Anthony Kennedy (1936–) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [22]
2022 Attorney General Merrick Garland.jpg Merrick Garland (1952–)86th United States Attorney General
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
[11]
2023 Official roberts CJ.jpg John Roberts (1955–)17th Chief Justice of the United States [14]

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References

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Additional sources