

			   THE WHITE HOUSE

		    Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                              April 6, 1994     

	     
		       REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
		       AT RESIGNATION CEREMONY
			 OF JUSTICE BLACKMUN

	     
			  The Roosevelt Room


10:34 A.M. EDT
	     
	     
	     THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning.  It is my duty and my 
honor on behalf of the people of the United States of America to 
thank Justice Blackmun for his lifetime of service to our nation.
	     
	     I have received his letter announcing his intention to 
step down from the Supreme Court.  In so doing, he will step up into 
our history.  During his 24 years on our highest court, Justice 
Blackmun has become part of the rich and evolving story of American 
justice and constitutional law with majesty and reason, with 
scholarship and grace.  He is a good man who has earned the respect 
and the gratitude of every one of his fellow countrymen and women.  
	     
	     When President Nixon nominated Harry Blackmun for 
service on the Court, his candidacy naturally occasioned a great deal 
of speculation about what kind of justice he would be.  Some labeled 
him a strict constructionist.  But he rejected any attempt to tag him 
with a label, saying, and I quote, "I've been called liberal and 
conservative.  Labels are deceiving.  I call them as I see them."  
Twenty-four years later, we can say that he did exactly what he said 
he would do 24 years ago.  
	     
	     It was President Woodrow Wilson who called our judiciary 
"the balance wheel of our entire system."  It is meant to maintain 
the nice adjustment between individual rights and government powers 
which constitutes political liberty.  Harry Blackmun has been a 
steady and strong hand on that balance wheel.
	     
	     In cases argued before him, he found the human dimension 
and struck the right balance -- in the struggle over how we might 
best overcome our legacy of racism; in protecting the women's 
reproductive rights; in providing poor people and sick people access 
to the lowest-priced prescription drugs; in opening the courthouse 
doors to the mentally ill; and upholding tough sentencing guidelines 
to keep hardened criminals confined in prison; in averting a 
constitutional crisis by voting with a united Court to tell the 
president who appointed him to obey the law.   
	     
	     Those of us who have studied the law can at times be 
lost in its abstractions.  The habits, the procedures, the language 
of the law can separate lawyers from the people who look to the bar 
for justice.  Justice Blackmun's identification was firmly and 
decisively with the ordinary people of this country, with their 
concerns.  And his humanity was often given voice not only in 
majority opinions, but in his dissents.  
	     
	     When he stood apart from the Court and aligned himself 
with an abused son against a violent parent and an indifferent child 
welfare agency, he appealed to the Court, "What is required of us is 
moral ambition.  Poor Joshua.  It is a sad commentary upon American 
life and constitutional principles that Joshua and his mother are 
denied by this Court the opportunity to have their rights protected."  
As he promised, his opinions defied labels.  Only the word "justice" 
applies.  Justice has not only been his title, it has been his 
guiding light.
	     
	     Consider the history of which he has been a part.  His 
tenure on the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court extended through 
the terms of nine presidents.  Fewer than 110 Americans have served 
on the Supreme Court, and Justice Blackmun served with 17 of them.  
Of the Judiciary Committee members who unanimously approved his 
nomination, including strong people in the Senate like John McClellan 
and Sam Ervin, Phil Hart, Hugh Scott, Mack Mathias, only three remain 
-- Senators Kennedy, Byrd and Thurman.  He's been part of a very 
lively period in American history.  And he has served us well.
	     
	     Let me also say on a personal note, one of the most 
rewarding experiences of my public life and my personal life has been 
the opportunity that Hillary and I have had to get to know Harry 
Blackmun and his wonderful wife, Dotty, who is here with us today.  I 
have seen his passion in a private way for the people of this 
country, for its history, for its leaders, for its institutions, for 
its laws, for holding us together and moving us forward.
	     
	     I can only say that every one of us who serves in any 
capacity in public life would do very well by the people of the 
United States if we could bring to our work half the integrity, the 
passion, and the love for this country that Justice Blackmun has 
given us on the United States Supreme Court for 24 years.  And I 
thank him very much.  (Applause.)
	     
	     JUSTICE BLACKMUN:  Mr. President, you've been generous, 
far too generous in your remarks.  There are those who don't agree 
with you, of course.  (Laughter.)  But I really wanted to say that 
it's been a great privilege to be on the federal bench for over 34 
years, in 24 terms here, and to watch the country move along through 
those 24 years.  It hasn't been much fun on most occasions, but it's 
a fantastic experience which few lawyers are privileged to have.  And 
as Byron White put it a year ago, it's been a great ride.  And I'm 
indebted to the nation and, Mr. President, to you and your 
predecessors, for putting up with the like of me.
	     
	     But thank you all for your generosity and for being here 
today.  It's not easy to step aside, but I know what the numbers are 
and it's time.  (Applause.)
	     
	     Q    Mr. President, these are such large shoes to fill.  
Have you thought about the kind of person you would want?  And if we 
could take you back to politics and the practical nature of politics, 
would it be possible, for instance, to elevate someone from the 
Senate, such as George Mitchell, without jeopardizing your program, 
such as health care?
	     
	     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, today I'd like to make just one 
statement about that because I think today should be Justice 
Blackmun's day.  We'll have a lot of time in the days ahead to 
discuss this.  
	     
	     The shoes are large.  The role that he has filled on 
this Court is terribly important.  I will attempt to appoint someone 
of genuine stature and a largeness of ability and spirit to the 
Court.  I will try to do it in a timely fashion, in an appropriate 
and timely fashion.  That is, within a reasonable amount of time.  
But I want to make sure that we have reviewed the appropriate 
options, and I will do that.  
	     
	     And I think you'll -- we'll have lots of time to talk 
about it in the days ahead.  But I just don't think I should say much 
more today.  I think this should be Justice Blackmun's day.

	     Q    Mr. President, Justice Blackmun has been known for 
his commitment to the decision in Roe versus Wade that legalizes 
abortion.  How important is it for the Supreme Court to keep that 
philosophy toward the right to abortion?  
	     
	     And I wondered if Justice Blackmun might say a few words 
about where he thinks the Court might be headed on that issue.
	     
	     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don't know if he wants to talk 
about it.  You know, of course, that I agree with the decision, and I 
think it's an important one in a very difficult and complex area of 
our nation's life.  But again, I don't want to talk about the 
appointment of a new justice today.
	     
	     Q:     Justice Blackmun, could you say a few words about 
Roe versus Wade, what it's meant and why you think that it has been 
an important decision for our country?
	     
	     JUSTICE BLACKMUN:  I didn't hear that.  Can you repeat 
it?
	     
	     Q:    I'm sorry.  Could you say a few words about the 
decision in Roe versus Wade and about why you think it's been 
important for women in this country, your continued commitment to it, 
and where you think the Court might be headed on it?
	     
	     JUSTICE BLACKMUN:  Well, I didn't come in here to 
indulge in a question and answer session, but I'll try to answer 
that.  Roe against Wade hit me early in my tenure on the Supreme 
Court.  And people forget that it was a 7-to-2 decision.  They always 
typify it as a Blackmun opinion.  But I'll say what I've said many 
times publicly -- I think it was right in 1973, and I think it was 
right today.  It's a step that had to be taken as we go down the road 
toward the full emancipation of women.  
	     
	     Q    Mr. President, I take it you've had some advance 
warning that this might be coming.  Could you give us some sense of 
how much opportunity you've had to get your process started and how 
far along it might be?
	     
	     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I spoke a little this morning with 
our staff about it.  We will have, I think, a good process that will 
involve Mr. Cutler, the White House Counsel; the Attorney General; 
Mr. McLarty; and Mr. Lader, who's been overseeing our personnel 
operations.  And I think it will proceed in a very deliberate way.  
Justice Blackmun referred in his letter to a conversation we had 
several months ago indicating that he might -- or that he intended to 
leave at sometime during this year, or announce his intention.  I, 
frankly, kept hoping he would change his mind.  But I think we are 
prepared and I think we proceed forthwith.
	     
	     Q    Mr. President -- this is for Justice Blackmun.  I 
thought you had taken the public decision that your doctors would 
tell you when it was time to go.  That having been so, can you say 
how you reached your decision to retire?  And would you add to that 
how you can get along without a daily fix of hate mail?  (Laughter.)
	     
	     JUSTICE BLACKMUN:  I missed the punch line.
	     
	     THE PRESIDENT:  He asked how you were going to get along 
without your daily fix of hate mail.  He offered to take some of 
mine.  (Laughter.)  
	     
	     JUSTICE BLACKMUN: I think the President and I have a lot 
to share in those hate mail things, but we'll see.  We'll let the 
future take care of itself.  I'm advised there's a vacancy on the 8th 
Circuit I think I'll apply for.  (Laughter.)  I'll be turned down I 
know.  (Laughter.)

	     
	     Q    Mr. President, it took you three months the last 
time.  Will it take you that long this time?
	     
	     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Laughter.)

				 END10:43 A.M. EDT

