Joe Gerken
Posted
Jul 10, 2019
at
11:53am
I wanted to set out a few memories and thoughts about Matthew Benedict. Mr. Benedict took a seminar that I taught this past Spring on two historic Supreme Court justices, Louis Brandeis and Olive Wendell Holmes.
I think, to many law students, Justices Brandeis and Holmes would seem to be “ancient history.” I was pleasantly surprised by how engaged the students in the seminar were, especially Mr. Benedict. He participated in every discussion with enthusiasm and much insight. The ideas we discussed mattered to him. His passion was most pronounced when we discussed a series of very important decisions on free speech and freedom of the press.
Justice Holmes has been called the “Great Dissenter.” During most of the time he was on the bench, the majority of justices were very conservative, and so Holmes was often compelled to submit a minority, or dissenting opinion. Over time, most of the positions he tool in his dissents became the law of the land. Ironically, Mr. Benedict often assumed the role of “Great Dissenter” in our seminar. He frequently staked out a position that was in a distinct minority in the class, and he argued for that position vigorously and intelligently. Needless to say, this led to many lively discussions. In this regard, he was a teacher’s dream.
I am pretty sure Mr. Benedict sincerely held to the principles he proposed in class. However, I sometimes got the impression that he would take a contrarian point of view for the sheer joy of arguing with his colleagues. Even when these debates became heated, it never got personal, in part because his colleagues really liked and respected him and also because he framed his arguments as theoretical matters, not as personal attacks. He had a way of putting out the most controversial opinions with a disarming smile on his face.
In this regard, he really “got” what the academic environment was all about. In the best case, it is a place where anyone could argue for anything, as long as (s)he backed up those ideas logically and factually. A place where, as Justice Holmes so eloquently put it, one need not fear ideas. One need only fear their suppression. Mr. Benedict certainly adhered to this ideal.
Long story short, I came to admire and like Mr. Benedict a great deal because of my experience with him in this class. This I can say with some certainty: Had he not been in this seminar, it would have been a less stimulating, less enjoyable and quieter class.
One thing in particular has puzzled and troubled me these past few days. He had such a zest for life - for the sheer joy of thinking, talking and debating about the things that mattered to him. In this regard, he resembled his hero, Oliver Wendell Holmes, who maintained his joi de vivre right up until his death at age 94. Would that Mr. Benedict had been given such a long life to pursue his passions. I will never forget him.
Joe Gerken, Reference Librarian, University at Buffalo Law Library