FOUR LOUISIANA GIANTS IN THE LAW

Abstract

Judge Robert A. Ainsworth, Jr., whose work and days are celebrated in the lecture series, studied law at Loyola Law School, where he was a classmate of my late dear colleague, once Chief Judge of the D. C. Circuit, J. Skelly Wright. I will speak of Judge Wright later. In this opening remark, may I say that I count it an honor to be in the company of the distinguished jurists who have come to Loyola to keep the memory of Judge Ainsworth vibrant, by celebrating the model of good citizenship he set in private practice, the Louisiana legislature, and later, the federal trial and appellate courts. Judge Ainsworth merits a place in history first as a state senator who resisted blatant segregationist bills, then as a wise and good judge whose moderate, consistent, and forward-looking views helped to keep the Fifth Circuit steady during the tumultuous 1960s. It is altogether fitting that his friends and colleagues have chosen to remember him by founding and maintaining this Ainsworth Memorial Lecture Series here at his alma mater. Mindful of Judge Ainsworth’s caring and devoted service to this state and our nation, I will speak today of four Louisiana jurists, learned in the law, who might have appeared on Judge Ainsworth’s list of the best among lawyers and judges: Judah Benjamin, John Minor Wisdom, J. Skelly Wright, and Alvin Rubin.