Maynard Pirsig
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Maynard E. Pirsig, LLD, (/ˈpɜːrsɪɡ/; January 9, 1902 - February 7, 1997) was an American legal scholar. He was director of the Minnesota Legal Aid Society, dean of the
University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...
, a
Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court wa ...
justice, and an advisor for the Indonesian, Puerto Rican, and El Salvadoran legal systems. He defined legal ethics in the 1974 ''
Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
''. His law books were widely used in schools across the country, and his book ''Judicial Administration'' was the first
casebook A casebook is a type of textbook used primarily by students in law schools.Wayne L. Anderson and Marilyn J. Headrick, The Legal Profession: Is it for you?' (Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996), 83. Rather than simply laying out the legal do ...
on the field of judicial administration in the US. He was mentored b
Everett Fraser
Roscoe Pound Nathan Roscoe Pound (October 27, 1870 – June 30, 1964) was an American legal scholar and educator. He served as Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1903 to 1911 and Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936. He was a membe ...
, and
Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...
. Pirsig wrote in his book, ''Cases and Materials on Legal Ethics'', 1949, "The lawyer's duty is of a double character. He owes to his client the duty of fidelity, but he also owes the duty of good faith and honorable dealing to judicial tribunals before whom he practices his profession. He is an officer of the court--a minister in the temple of justice." He was a champion of
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
, the Equal Rights Amendment, abolishment of the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
("an imperfect system should not be lethal"),
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
, a separate
juvenile court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...
system,
rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...
programs for prison inmates, and fair access to the law regardless of income. Robert A. Stein, former dean of U Minnesota Law School, described Pirsig as "an unpretentious man concerned about the welfare of others".


Early life and education

Pirsig was born in 1902 in Kossuth County,
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, near
Elmore, Minnesota Elmore is a city in Faribault County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 663 at the 2010 census. Elmore was the boyhood home of former U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale. History A post offic ...
, to Gustav and Amelia Pirsig, Prussian immigrants. He was raised on his parents' farm, with his four siblings, speaking only German until he began attending school. Pirsig earned a bachelor's degree in 1923 from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
, and an LL.B degree in 1925 from the
University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...
.


University of Minnesota Law School 1929-1970

Pirsig joined the university's Law School faculty 1929. Soon, under the guidance by Dean Everett Fraser, he attended graduate courses in law at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
from 1931–1932, studying under
Roscoe Pound Nathan Roscoe Pound (October 27, 1870 – June 30, 1964) was an American legal scholar and educator. He served as Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1903 to 1911 and Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936. He was a membe ...
and
Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...
. During 1932–1933, on a University of Minnesota Law School scholarship, as preparation for developing a course in judicial administration, Pirsig spent one year in England with his wife Harriet and son Robert, studying at the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
. Upon returning to the University of Minnesota Law School, Pirsig began teaching his new course in judicial administration in 1934. A course that strove to encompass all subjects—from justice and precedence, to trial techniques and the organization of the courts—pertinent to developing well rounded lawyers. Pirsig's research and teaching led to the publication of a book in 1946, ''Cases and Materials on Judicial Administration'', which he taught throughout his career. ''Judicial Administration'' gave birth to a new subject in the field of law. Charles W. Wolfram described Pirsig's teaching as aiming to produce "students... equipped with a challenging attitude, a reformer's zeal for ideal solutions, and a full arsenal of possibilities for innovations (who) would continue to confront the judicial system with challenges to ever more humane conduct that alone will guarantee its continuing legitimacy". George K. Gardner said of the book: "Here are a thousand pages on the purpose and problems of our profession which will repay thoughtful study by any student, teacher, or practitioner of the law." Pirsig also taught courses on pleading, ethics and criminal law. When Pirsig was Dean of the Law School, 1948 - 1955, he recruited ten new faculty members. Most were, or became, pillars in the world of legal scholarship, including
Charles Alan Wright Charles Alan Wright (September 3, 1927 – July 7, 2000) was an American constitutional lawyer widely considered to be the foremost authority in the United States on constitutional law and federal procedure, and was the coauthor of the 54-volume ...
, Michael I. Sovern, David Louisell,
Jesse Dukeminier Jesse Dukeminier (August 12, 1925 – April 20, 2003) was a professor of law for 40 years at the University of California, Los Angeles, and authored or co-authored a significant number of articles and textbooks in the areas of property law, wills ...
, and libraria
Leon Liddell
Pirsig managed an expansion of the school, including the library. He developed a training program at the law school, for professionals in juvenile delinquency control which trained police and judges on how to utilize the
American Juvenile Justice System The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the feder ...
- a system Pirsig had been instrumental in introducing to the state. He managed a difficult period of post-war transition and growth at the University of Minnesota Law School, however, according to Robert A. Stein, "traditions of excellence were maintained and the foundation was laid for more productive future years". Pirsig resigned his position as Dean in 1955, and returned to teaching full-time. Professor Pirsig retired from the University of Minnesota Law School due to its mandatory retirement age, then 68. Honors bestowed upon him by the University included: • Recipient of the University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement Award, 1985. • Mondale Hall houses the Maynard E. Pirsig Lecture Hall, which includes an oil painting of Maynard. • Maynard Pirsig Moot Court
click here
• Pirsig's Will contained a gift to University of Minnesota Law School, to teach his ''Judicial Administration'' course again. It was revived and taught again c. 2001-2004.


Mitchell Hamline School of Law 1970-1993

After his mandatory retirement from University of Minnesota Law School due to age,
Mitchell Hamline School of Law Mitchell Hamline School of Law is a private law school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and offers full- and part-time legal education for its Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. History Mitchell Hamlin ...
immediately hired Pirsig to their faculty. Then 68, Pirsig requested that he not be tenured, so he could be easily released from his position if required—he taught until age 91. Here, he taught ''Criminal Law'', ''Criminal Procedure'', ''Professional Responsibility'', and ''Comparative Judicial Administration''. Drawing from his early experience in London, Pirsig helped to develop and teach Comparative Judicial Administration for William Mitchell College of Law's (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law) "Summer in London" program, with Professo
Robert E. Oliphant
and Professo
Eric S. Janus
of William Mitchell. Maynard taught the course in London and Saint Paul, from 1988 - 1991. The course was taught in London, at Regent's University, together with,
Michael Zander Michael Zander, KC, FBA, (born 16 November 1932 in Berlin) is a British legal scholar. He is Professor Emeritus of Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the author of several books known to generations of lawyers an ...
. Maynard Pirsig an
Randall Tietjen
co-authored the article ''Court Procedure and the Separation of Powers in Minnesota'', published in Vol. 15 of the ''
William Mitchell Law Review William Mitchell College of Law was a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, from 1956 to 2015. Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of ...
'' in 1989. Mitchell Hamline bestowed an honorary L.L.D. doctorate degree upon Pirsig, 1981. Pirsig made a donation for the construction of the Warren E. Burger Law Library, housing the Maynard E. Pirsig Study Hall, which contains a vitrine displaying his legal and personal memorabilia—including his 1946 U of M lectures recorded onto
SoundScriber SoundScriber is a dictation machine introduced in 1945 by The SoundScriber Corp. (New Haven). It records sound with a groove embossed into soft vinyl discs with a stylus. by Soundscriber's chief engineer, has technical details of the machines ...
vinyl discs.


Minnesota Supreme Court

At the age of 40, Pirsig served as an interim justice on the
Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court wa ...
. He was appointed by Governor
Harold Stassen Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was an American politician who was the 25th Governor of Minnesota. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1948, considered for a ti ...
. Pirsig served for only a few months, but wrote more than a dozen opinions, several of which later became important legal precedents. A summary of opinions written by Maynard E. Pirsig can be seen at this link
click here


Selected achievements

* Executive director of the Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Society. 1925 - 1930 * Secretary of the Minnesota Judicial Council, which studied the organization and procedures of the courts. 1937 - 1952. * Chairman of the Minnesota State Bar Association committee to study th
American Law Institute's Youth Conservation Act
ref name=":0" /> 1943 * Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Minnesota Division of Employment and Security, 1945 - 1956, responsible for the development and administration of Minnesota's employment security program. * Member of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law. His 30-year tenure as a member of the conference included service in many capacities, such as chairman of committees for uniform acts in arbitration, expunging criminal records, juvenile court, and rules of criminal procedure. 1947 - 1977. * Member of the
Advisory Committee An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to th ...
on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 1951 - 1957. * Chairman, Juvenile Court Committee. 1953 - 1958 * Member, U.S. Department of Labor's Industry Committee for Puerto Rico. Beginning in 1955, later chairman for four years. * Reporter for the special legislative advisory committee created to prepare a revision of the Minnesota Criminal Code. 1957. * Member, U.S Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 1960 - 1970. * Reviewed and Advised on the Indonesian judicial system for their government, during a three-month visit with James F. Hogg, 1968. * Consultant to the Minnesota Supreme Court's Committee on Rules of Criminal Procedure. 1971 - 1990. * Define
Legal Ethics, ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
1974 * Member, Minnesota Supreme Court's Commission on Juvenile Courts. 1976 * Lectured on judicial administration to the Supreme Court of El Salvador. 1991


Publications

Maynard E. Pirsig was a prolific writer. Many of his publications were about how to improve the judicial system. A list of his publications can be seen at this link
click here


Awards and honors

* Herbert Lincoln Harley Award from the
American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...
, for outstanding contributions to the improvement of the administration of justice, 1973. * Honorary doctorate degree (LLD) from
William Mitchell College of Law William Mitchell College of Law was a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, from 1956 to 2015. Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of ...
, 1981 * Outstanding Achievement Award,
University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...
, 1985. At the time, the only father and son (Robert M. Pirsig, awarded 1975) conferred with individual awards. * William Mitchell College of Law establishes the Pirsig Distinguished Lecturer Series, 1987 *Whitney North Seymour Award * The University of Minnesota Law School Moot Court is titled, "Maynard Pirsig Moot Court."


Events of interest

While Dean of the University of Minnesota Law School, Pirsig publicly urged the university to expel
fraternities and sororities Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
that had racial "bias clauses" in their charters or constitutions, 1957. Pirsig helped draft a bill to revise the Minnesota State Criminal Code. Although some officials believed that it was too lenient and hampered law enforcement, it was passed in 1965.


Personal life

Following a courtship of several years, he married Harriet Sjobeck June 1, 1926. They raised three children,
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, Jean and Wanda.


Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirsig, Maynard American legal scholars Deans of law schools in the United States University of Minnesota alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni University of Minnesota Law School faculty Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court Minnesota lawyers 1902 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American academics