In Memoriam: Robert R. Merhige, Jr.

It is difficult to write about Judge Merhige in an academic journal. His greatness lay not in formulating abstract legal doctrine, but in applying the law to real life situations. When I began researching his biography in 1986, the most pleasant part of the process was personal interviews with the Judge spanning two and a half years and filling some fifty audio tapes. Unfortunately, I was never able to capture his humanity in print and may have done him a disservice by writing his biography the way a law professor does-focusing on the intellectual aspects of his famous cases, rather than on the man himself. I will not repeat that mistake here. Although I have provided the context and background for the Judge\u27s comments, this time I will let his words speak for themselves