Academic

According to the Legal Times blog, Brandeis will soon be joining the august company of Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Wright, Gary Cooper, Elvis Presley and Bart Simpson. Yes, that’s right: he is getting his own postage stamp. Actually the USPS is releasing stamps for 4 justices at once: Brandeis himself, Brandeis’ protege Felix Frankfurter (who the USPS describes as “enigmatic and controversial”), Joseph Story and William J. Brennan, Jr.  There will be an dedication ceremony at the Supreme Court on September 22, and the stamps will presumably be available shortly thereafter.

I really like the look of the stamp. They took the photo that Warhol based his Brandeis portrait on and pasted on top of a tasteful background. It’s certainly much better looking than the old style faux-engraving style that was so prevalent on stamps a couple decades ago.

Picture of Supreme Court justice stamps.

The USPS site gives this mini-biography of Brandeis:

“Louis D. Brandeis was the associate justice most responsible for helping the Supreme Court shape the tools it needed to interpret the Constitution in light of the sociological and economic conditions of the 20th century. ?If we would guide by the light of reason,? he once exhorted his colleagues, ?we must let our minds be bold.? A progressive and champion of reform, Brandeis devoted his life to social justice. He defended the right of every citizen to speak freely, and his groundbreaking conception of the right to privacy continues to impact legal thought today.”

You can read the other biographies as well as see the other stamps released this year by going here.