NCJ Number
114580
Journal
Criminal Law Bulletin Volume: 24 Issue: 6 Dated: (November-December 1988) Pages: 521-529
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., assumed the office of Federal district judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, where he still sits full time. He has been labeled a judicial activist, a trial court's William O. Douglas, and the prototype for the modern activist judge.
Abstract
While eschewing the activist label, Merhige subscribes to the view that an effective judge has a responsibility to pursue justice affirmatively. His efforts placed him in the forefront of the prisoners' rights movement of the early 1970s. This article reflects upon the 'early days' of the movement and reveals a participant's perspecive on a dramatic stage in the evolution of prisoners' rights. (Author abstract)