ALI member G. Edward White has published a major new biography titled Robert H. Jackson: A Life in Judgment, released by Oxford University Press on August 21, 2025. This comprehensive work offers the first full-length portrait in decades of one of the most influential legal figures of the twentieth century.
Drawing on Jackson’s extensive personal papers housed at the Library of Congress and the Robert H. Jackson Center, as well as a substantial oral history archive, White traces Jackson’s extraordinary path from a self-taught attorney in Upstate New York to Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and chief U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials.
Before joining the judiciary, Jackson played a key role in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, serving as Solicitor General and later as Attorney General. He was instrumental in defending New Deal legislation and authoring constitutional arguments that shaped the federal government’s wartime legal strategies. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1941, Jackson became known for his independence and his sharp constitutional insights. His legacy includes landmark opinions such as West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette and his notable dissent in Korematsu v. United States.
Perhaps most widely recognized for his leadership at the Nuremberg trials, Jackson helped establish foundational principles of international criminal law that continue to influence legal systems around the world.
Robert H. Jackson: A Life in Judgment presents a compelling portrait of a legal visionary whose contributions spanned domestic constitutional law and international justice. White’s biography brings renewed attention to Jackson’s jurisprudence and public service, offering insight into a life dedicated to the rule of law.