Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 281-068
Date: Thursday, October 21, 1971 at 7:05 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President)
Recording device: Old Executive Office Building
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/281-068

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[5:03:44] Over the past two years, many cases have come before the court involving indelible violence between the rights of society and the rights of men.
[5:03:55] Defenders accused of crimes against them, honest and dedicated constitutional lawyers, disagree as to whether or not to maintain that violence.
[5:04:09] As a judicial conservative, I believe some court decisions have gone too far in weakening the peace forces as against the criminal forces in our society.
[5:04:19] In maintaining this delicate balance between the rights of society and defendants accused of crime, I believe that the Peace Forces must not be denied the legal tools they need to protect the innocent from criminal offense.
[5:04:32] I believe we can strengthen the hands of Peace Forces without compromising our precious principle that the rights of individuals accused of crimes must also be protected.
[5:04:41] It is with these criteria of mine that I have selected the two members whose names I will send to the Senate tomorrow.
[5:04:48] Everything that Louis F. Powell has undertaken, he has accomplished with distinction and honor, both as a lawyer and as a citizen.
[5:04:56] Excellence has marked his career since his days as a student of Washington, D.C., where he was Spidey, a captain, and first in his class in Austin.
[5:05:05] He practiced law in Richmond since 1931, except for four years of distinguished service in World War II.
[5:05:10] In his unique legal career, he has received virtually every honor his profession can bestow.
[5:05:15] He's been president of the American College of Travel, the American Bar Company, and the American Bar Association.
[5:05:22] The latter role will provide leadership in the Division of Legal Services for the need for the revision of standards for administration of criminal justice.
[5:05:31] Louis Powell is from Virginia.
[5:05:33] Unlike another great protégé, Chief Justice Marshall, Lewis Powell is recognized by his legal colleagues throughout the nation as being a man who represents not just protégé, but the South.
[5:05:44] He is first and foremost a great man.
[5:05:48] William Reckless has been outstanding in every intellectual and deputy as I've taken him.
[5:05:54] He was graduated from Stanford University 5A Academy in 1948.
[5:05:58] He graduated first in his class from the Stanford University Law School in 1952.
[5:06:02] He was then awarded one of the highest honors the law graduates could receive.
[5:06:07] He was chosen as law clerk for Mr. Justice Robert Judge, one of the most outstanding members of the court in the past ten centuries.
[5:06:14] In this position, he has acted as a legal assistant for justice in his duties, including legal research in the highest order.
[5:06:21] On leaving the court, he has engaged in the general practice of law for 16 years in Phoenix, Arizona until 1969, when I appointed him assistant attorney general, office of legal counsel.
[5:06:32] Legal counseling is a very special function in the Department of Justice, serving as the chief interpreter of the Constitution and the statutes of the United States.
[5:06:41] He is, in effect, the President's lawyer as well.
[5:06:45] As a senior partner in a major endeavor for all time, and as one who has had the opportunity to meet hundreds of able lawyers throughout this country, I would say that William Rankin is, as one of the finest legal lawyers, one of the finest legal lawyers,