or polio , according to Judge McKeown and various biographers ), Justice Douglas regularly sought refuge in the natural environment . In the foothills and ridges of Mount Adams and Mount Rainier , Justice Douglas would find what would become a significant part of his identity , a love and appreciation for nature . Thus , it was only natural that during his tenure as the longest sitting Justice on the Supreme Court , Justice Douglas would often be the first – and , at times , only – Justice to find sympathy for the environment in the opinions he issued . Take , for example , Sierra Club v . Morton , a case in which the Sierra Club was seeking to prevent the construction of a ski resort within a national forest , but the Supreme Court held that it did not have standing . It is here that Justice Douglas penned his perhaps most famous dissent , demonstrating exactly how much appreciation he had for the environment : “ Contemporary public concern for protecting nature ' s ecological equilibrium should lead to the conferral of standing upon environmental objects to sue for their own preservation .” Justice Douglas even goes as far as to suggest that the case would be , “ more properly labeled as Mineral King [ the name of the glacial valley ] v . Morton .”
Justice Douglas was not , however , averse to the plight of the average citizen . To the contrary , “ he does think about the impact of the law on people ,” says Judge McKeown . “ He certainly had themes . And one of his themes was the constitution was [ meant ] to get the government off the backs of little people . That ’ s a theme you do see in his writing off the court , where he wrote 50 books , and also his jurisprudence .”
It does become apparent in Judge McKeown ’ s detailing of his advocacy for conservation that Justice Douglas appreciated the fact that people and their buy-in were necessary for the movement for conservation . As Judge McKeown notes , Justice Douglas often sought to reach people where they were , opting to pen articles on conservation and civil liberties for magazines such as Reader ’ s Digest , National Geographic , Ladies ’ Home Journal , and even Playboy , among many others . Although where he chose to publish his articles was a hot-button-issue among his critics , Justice Douglas laid the foundation for tactics still used in the movement for conservation and preservation of the environment today : appealing to the senses of an average American and making the movement one that requires and appreciates the participation of everyone .
IN THE PROFESSION
Given his unconventional advocacy , it should also come as no surprise that Justice Douglas often toed the line of what could and could not be considered ethical judicial advocacy . Justice Douglas often found himself veering into the political , using his station to lobby federal officials and advocate for his interests . Throughout Citizen Justice , Judge McKeown recounts the numerous protest hikes organized by Justice Douglas in coordination with other environmentalist and conservationist organizations demonstrating just how far he was willing to go in his advocacy efforts . On the tenuous nature of Justice Douglas ’ ethics , Judge McKeown says , “ I admire him for so many things , and he was really a genius and an amazing individual , but he ’ s not someone that you really can see just in one light . He ’ s a fairly nuanced individual . And even during his time on the court , not everything followed in a straight line in terms of all of his jurisprudence .”
Hearing and reading about Justice Douglas and everything he managed to accomplish before the end of his tenure as a Supreme Court Justice , it is hard not to be inspired by his passion and conviction for conservation . Does Judge McKeown see herself as part of the legacy of Justice Douglas and his jurisprudence ? “ I would never presume to compare myself to him as a Supreme Court Justice . I certainly think on the notion of outside activity , I ’ ve done a lot of work in the environment and the outdoors , but primarily in a very different realm . In working for the Girl Scouts , for example , and serving on the board of Teton Science Schools where we have K-12 education and outdoor education ,” says the Judge , but “ thinking about ways for individuals to be outdoors and appreciate the amazing magic of being outdoors ” is certainly something she shares with the Justice . With Citizen Justice , Judge McKeown does all that she can to fully capture the long , storied legacy of Justice Douglas , a difficult task given just how much he wrote and accomplished during his time as a Supreme Court Justice . And while he may have had his flaws , Justice Douglas was certainly a hero and a friend to the environment .
Hon . M . Margaret McKeown , Citizen Justice : The Environmental Legacy of William O . Douglas – Public Advocate and Conservation Champion ( 2022 ) was awarded the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award First Honorable Mention in 2023 and is available for purchase from Potomac Books via their website , as well as other major bookselling platforms .
www . atlantabar . org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 15