Henry J. Friendly Medal

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]

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

Year	Image	Recipient	Title	Ref
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 Jr. (1920–2017)	Judge of the United States Court of Military Commission Review	[7]
2002		Anthony Lewis (1927–2013)	James Madison Chair at Columbia University	[19]
		Linda Greenhouse (1947–)	Joseph M. Goldstein Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School
2005		Ronald Dworkin (1931–2013)	Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New York University	[3]
		Richard Posner (1939–)	Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
2009		Nicholas Katzenbach (1922–2012)	24th United States Under Secretary of State 65th United States Attorney General	[8]
2011		Sandra Day O'Connor (1930–2023)	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States	[8]
2013		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 (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 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 K. Harper (1940–)	President of the New York City Bar Association	[20]
2018		Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020)	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States	[21]
2019		Anthony Kennedy (1936–)	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States	[22]
2022		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		John Roberts (1955–)	17th Chief Justice of the United States	[14]

References

1. Tandanpolie, Tatyana (May 24, 2023). "Chief Justice John Roberts defends Supreme Court's 'highest standards of conduct,' offers no new rules". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
2. Appiah, Anthony; Gates (Jr.), Henry Louis (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-19-517055-9.
3. "Awards | Henry J. Friendly Medal". American Law Institute. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
4. Barnes, Robert (2023-05-24). "Roberts says Supreme Court will address ethics issues". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
5. Hamm, Andrew (2018-05-21). "Justice Ginsburg receives Friendly Medal from American Law Institute". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
6. Farias, Cristian (2023-10-02). "The Supreme Court Is Not Done Courting Disaster, With Abortion and Guns Back on the Docket". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
7. "In Memoriam: William T. Coleman Jr". American Law Institute. April 3, 2017. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
8. "Law school's namesake, Justice O'Connor, receives Friendly Medal". ASU News. Arizona State University. October 21, 2011. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
9. "Chief Justice Roberts Receives ALI's Friendly Medal". American Law Institute. May 23, 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
10. Dorsen 2012, p. 358.
11. "U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Receives Henry J. Friendly Medal". American Law Institute. May 18, 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
12. "28th Newsletter" (PDF). Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit. July 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
13. Martin, Jessica Roberts (2013-04-03). "Levin elected to American Law Institute - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis". The Source. Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
14. "Chief Justice Roberts to Receive ALI's Friendly Medal". American Law Institute. March 21, 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
15. Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session, on Confirmation Hearings on Appointments to the Federal Judiciary. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1992.
16. Nelson, William E. (2004-08-30). In Pursuit of Right and Justice: Edward Weinfeld as Lawyer and Judge. New York University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-8147-5828-1.
17. "Judge Weinfeld First Recipient of Friendly Medal" (PDF). Vol. 10, no. 2. American Law Institute. January 1988. pp. 1, 8. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
18. Perkins, Roswell B. (2000). "Herbert Wechsler" (PDF). Proceedings of the American Law Institute. American Law Institute: 430–436.
19. "The History of The American Law Institute – The Henry J. Friendly Medal Established". American Law Institute. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
20. "Conrad K. Harper Receives Friendly Medal". American Law Institute. May 23, 2017. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
21. "Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Receives Friendly Medal". American Law Institute. May 21, 2018. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
22. Hamm, Andrew (2019-05-20). "Retired Justice Kennedy promises message of civility at American Law Institute's annual meeting". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved 2024-03-28.

Additional sources

• Dorsen, David M. (2012). Henry Friendly, Greatest Judge of His Era. Foreword by Richard Posner. Harvard University Press. doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674064935. ISBN 9780674064935. S2CID 159335898.