Judge Robert Beezer: Public Memorial, June 27, 2012

Last week I traveled to Seattle to pay my last respect to a man whose kindness, generous counsel, and professionalism made an indelible mark on my life and set the stage for what I've been fortunate to accomplish over the past quarter-century.

Judge Robert R. Beezer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit passed away just before this past Easterl.  Last week, on June 27, a public memorial for Judge Beezer was held in the Nakamura United States Courthouse in Seattle.  I had the honor of clerking for Judge Beezer in 1985-86.

The speakers at the public memorial spoke to Judge Beezer’s character, his professionalism, his love for the law and the court, and his humanity.  Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, Judge Margaret McKeown, and Judge Richard Tallman spoke of him as a lawyer and a judge, a man who lived his professional life by a code of civility and respect for the rule of law, especially the procedural rules that govern litigation and sometimes the progress of life itself.  He insisted on treating other judges and the lawyers that appeared before him with respect.  He strove to maintain civility and professional courtesy, even (no, especially!) in the midst of litigative strife or judicial disagreements.

As but one of the many examples of his professional courtesy shared during the memorial, Judge McKeown described how a then-senior practitioner of trusts and estates had gone well beyond extending courtesy to her as a younger lawyer on the opposite side of a lawsuit when he offered her a ride every morning to the courthouse to spare her difficulties in transportation.  But, showing his consummate professionalism, he remained a zealous advocate for his client, not hesitating to take appropriate procedural advantage to benefit his client during the course of the trial.

In sum, Judge Beezer was a model for lawyers and judges that being an effective lawyer and strong representative of a client is fully consistent with professional courtesy and civil discourse.

My former co-clerk, Brad Englander, and the judge’s daughter, Allison Beezer, spoke of his mentorship, his humor, his guidance, his humility, and his infectious joy in  the simple things in life.  He took great pleasure in seeing the lives unfold of those who loved, both his children and grandchildren and three decades of law clerks (who often became “adopted” members of his family).

During the memorial, my co-clerk and now long-time friend Brad Englander told a story from our days as clerks for Judge Beezer that has remained close to my heart and that of my wife for a quarter-century.  Just before Thanksgiving in 1985, Seattle was socked with a heavy snowstorm.  The city having made the economic decision not to invest in snow-removal equipment since significant snow-fall was not typical in Seattle, the city was effectively shut down for several days.  Transportation throughout the city –- and out of the city –- was difficult or impossible.  Both Brad with his fiancé and I with my wife had plans to spend the Thanksgiving holiday out of town.  But the snow left us stranded.  Judge Beezer then invited all of us to spend Thanksgiving dinner with his family, one of the most memorable evenings of my life.  Both Brad and I continue to be deeply touched by that hospitality, which was so characteristic of Judge Beezer, all these years later.

Let me add one additional story about Judge Beezer that, precisely because it is rather silly, sheds more light on his playful personality and genuine humanity.  During my clerkship (and beyond), Judge Beezer often would volunteer to sit for a day or two on an additional argument panel in Seattle beyond his ordinary monthly set of arguments, because the court was short-handed.  On one such occasion, I was in the courtroom in the Seattle courthouse watching the arguments, because I had worked on the bench memo for one of the cases.  A lawyer was arguing his case by reading prepared remarks, only occasionally pausing to answer a question which he plainly viewed as an unwelcome interruption.  [Note:  Let it be other than obvious to law students or lawyers who have not argued an appellate case, reading your argument is a very bad practice and judges who ask you questions are your friends, as you then know what points to emphasize in your argument.]

On the bench, Judge Beezer was playing with a rubber band as he listened to this lawyer drone on.  The rubber band suddenly broke in the judge’s hand.  The rubber band leaped out toward the lawyer at the podium, but then arched over his head to land in the aisle behind him.  The lawyer never missed a word in his reading, not even noticing what had happened as he continued to look down at and recite from his prepared remarks.  The judge had an odd look on his face.  When I asked him afterward whether he’d been embarrassed, he said, no, the look on his face was because it really hurt when the rubber band snapped in his hand.

I know Judge Beezer would have been very pleased with the public memorial, grateful to his fellow judges and former clerk for their remarks, and very proud of his daughter for her loving and humorous words.  I think Judge Beezer would have been most gratified with the themes touched on by those who spoke, because they were exactly the things for which he would have wanted to be remembered –- civility, professionalism, and mentorship were deliberately adopted features of his character.

And now may Robert Beezer live on joyfully in our hearts while he rejoices in the presence of God, looking forward to that blessed day when we all will join together again as one family.