# Harry A. Blackmun oral history interview. Session 1

Harry Blackmun and Harold Koh start this interview in Blackmun's office approximately one week after his 24th, and final, term as a Supreme Court justice. They go through the mementos, tokens and photographs on his walls and bookcases. Then, they move to the Supreme Court Courtroom when Blackmun discusses the feelings he had as a new judge being robed, controversial cases such as Roe v. Wade and Furman v. Georgia. Next, Blackmun and Koh are filmed in the Supreme Court Library where Blackmun says he frequented to write his opinions in solitude. He talks about the length of opinions and how they can be challenging to write succinctly under pressure. He addresses the criticism he has received over his career. Blackmun speaks fondly of baseball and some of his favorite opinions he wrote and shares that it's important to remember there are real people's lives at the heart of these cases. This first session ends with interior shots of the Supreme Court Library.

- Kind: Interview
- Year: 1994
- Runtime: 1 h 28 min
- By: Blackmun, Harry A. (harry Andrew)
- Genres: History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2023600514/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2023600514?play=1)