Fried Confirmed to Court

Charles Fried, Carter professor of general jurisprudence at Harvard Law School, was narrowly confirmed two weeks ago to the highest court in Massachusetts after a bitter four-month battle.

Fried had come under heavy fire from labor, women's and civil rights groups across the state for his conservative writings and service in the Reagan Administration.

But in the end, four of the eight members of the Governor's Council voted to confirm him to the state's Supreme Judicial Court. Lt. Gov. A. Paul Cellucci cast a rare tie-breaking vote to seal Fried's place on the court.

In an unusual move earlier this summer, the Governor's Council actually delayed its hearings on Fried's nomination by two months after a huge outcry by liberal groups across the state.

"We feel he represents a huge threat to the people of Massachusetts," said Lester P. Lee Jr., co-chair of the Anti-Fried Coalition: The Committee for a Just Supreme Court. "He is an extremely conservative man who throughout most of his career has worked against tenant rights, civil rights, human rights, women's rights and consumer rights."

Other groups such as the Massachusetts chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Women's Bar Association and the Cambridge Tenants Union also opposed Fried's confirmation.

But this anti-Fried sentiment was no longer an issue after Jordan Levy (D-Worcester) cast the final vote in Fried's favor to assure his confirmation.

"Charles Fried does not have horns and a long green tail," Levy told the Boston Globe. "He's not a rapist, murderer or pedophile."

Fried is expected to be officially appointed to the court this month.

Reaction to Fried's confirmation was mixed, ranging from bitter disappointment among liberals to relief in the Weld administration.

"We are very disappointed and troubled by this conservative with a long history of right-wing political activities and [a] political agenda of the right wing," Lee said.

"We are concerned that he does not have a full understanding of what it means to have the right to choose," said Toni K. Troop, president of Boston chapter of NOW. She said the organization was also concerned about Fried's views on issues of violence, access to legal services, health care, civil rights and women's rights issues.

Despite the outpouring of protest, several councillors said they were pleased with the selection process.

"I was disappointed about the vote, but you win some, you lose some," said Dorothy Kelly-Gay (D-Somerville).

"In all, I think it was a great process. Yes, I didn't win, but I don't feel that I have lost. A principle fight is never lost," she said.

'Kind of a Scalia?'

Several of those who served on the Governor's council said they believed the strenuous selection process will make Fried a better judge, by reminding him of both liberal and conservative viewpoints and the commitment he made to neutrality.

"I think that Professor Fried, as he goes to the bench, will remember a lot of the things that happened in the process," Kelly-Gay said. "We had a long conversation after the vote, and I'm sure he will remember some of the testimony, and his decisions will be better because of it."

Gov. William F. Weld '66, who nominated Fried, said after the confirmation vote that he expected Fried to have a dramatic impact on the court.

"I think he's going to be such an intellectual force that he could be kind of a Scalia on the court," Weld said in news reports, referring to the conservative Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia.

The Governor's comparison was particularly galling to those who opposed Fried during the nomination process.

"We feel that the Governor was very politically disingenuous regarding the nomination," Lee said. "Before the nomination he said nothing about Fried's political leanings, and then after the confirmation, he identified Fried as another Antonin Scalia."

While Weld may be eager to label Fried as a conservative powerhouse, his ideological impact on the court remains to be seen.

Earlier this summer two of Fried's fellow law school professors described him as a libertarian.

"He is, broadly speaking, a libertarian," said Laurence H. Tribe '62, Tyler professor of constitutional law. "He is a very strong proponent of free speech."

"[Fried] is a true libertarian who understands the line between free speech and violence and who values the Bill of Rights over political correctness," said Alan M. Dershowitz, Frankfurter professor of law.

Fried himself said in the Governor's Council hearings before his confirmation that he wouldn't bring a political agenda to the court.

"To serve the law as a judge is to come to the bench with no project, but only to listen to the arguments in each case as it comes before the court, and to apply the law wisely and humanely," Fried said.

Making the Grade

Although Fried's selection process earned him tough criticism on the basis of his politics, supporters and opponents agree he is a talented academic and an excellent solicitor.

He received undergraduate degrees from Princeton University in 1956 and Oxford University in 1958. In 1960, he received a Master's degree from Oxford University and a law degree from Columbia University.

He joined the Harvard faculty as an assistant professor of law in 1961, became a full professor in 1965 and was appointed to an endowed chair in 1981.

In the 1980's, he served as Solicitor General under Ronald Reagan.

After returning to the law school, he taught courses on constitutional law and the federal courts.

His writings include essays on topics such as legal philosophy and constitutional law. Among his books are Order and Law: Arguing the Reagan Revolution, published in 1991, and Contract as Promise, published in 1981.