[Note: handwritten insertions are in square brackets below.]

September 8, 1981

Mr. Ronald Sokol
[Avocate Americain Conseil Juridique
13540 Puyricard
Aix-en-Provence
FRANCE]

Dear Ron:

Well here we are under way with another academic year, and
I am once more attempting to [usher] beginning students into
that near-mystical common law process whereby the facts of a
controversy give rise to the legal rule which in turn decides
the outcome of the controversy. Having thrashed around with
that for about three hours I am now about to plunge into the
equally mysterious process, beginning around 800 years ago, where-
by a writ issued in the King’s name authorizing one with a griev-
ance to bring it before a royal official generated a whole body
of substantive law. After a few more hours I will get down to
what one might consider more orthodox procedure.

For your information I am enclosing a copy of the new brochure
describing our graduate Program for Judges. I do not believe
it is an exaggeration to say that the program to date (with
the first class having completed both of its summer resident ses-
sions) has succeeded well beyond the best hopes. Somehow the
chemistry has worked. Faculty members and judges and subject
matter all came together in a way that clicked. As you can see
from the brochure, we are now inviting applications for the second
class, to enter next summer. We will probably make a few variations
from the curriculum described in this brochure, but basically we
will stay with this plan since it has worked well.

This program is fascinating and I am delighted to have a key
part in it. However, it does have the disadvantage of tying me
down all of the summer. With the last two summer [sic] this has not
been troubling. However, there may come a time when I will become
a bit restless to break away to something else in the summer. But
I suppose I will deal with that later.

[end of page 1]

Mr. Ronald Sokol
September 8, 1981
Page 2

I have completed a very short paper on the internal subject
matter organization of the German appellate courts. Now I am in
the process of placing it for publication. If and when it sees
print, I will send you a copy. Although I am not the best
qualified person in the world to handle this subject, I plunged
in through default; no one else had tackled it or seemed likely
to do so. Yet it is of tremendous importance, in my judgment,
for the appellate courts of this country over the next decade or
so.

This Thursday evening I will be in New Jersey to speak at
the annual judicial conference of the state courts, where the
entire judiciary of New Jersey will be assembled. The occasion
presents two novelties for me, One is that I have never before
made a speech in the state of New Jersey, although I have been
involved in projects there. The other is that I have never before
spoken to the entire judiciary of a state gathered in one
room at one time. At this point I am still brooding over what
to say. If experience is any guide[,] I will have it worked out
by the time I [rise at the podium], but not much before.

A visit to France is still very much on my agenda, but no
time seems to be in focus. Jan and I both would like very much
to have [a] visit with you all there at some point. Also, I would
rather like to look in on the school at Bordeaux that trains
the French judiciary. I confess to being somewhat ambivalent
about foreign travel. In the past nothing has been of greater
interest to me, and no one has enjoyed travelling abroad more
than I. However, so much of travel and so much of what one can
get out of it is visual that I find it to be an enormously
frustrating experience. But the internal drive is sufficiently
strong that I will no doubt undertake trips in the future, frustra-
tions and all.

If you ever find yourself with any chance of getting by
Charlottesville, please let me know. We have plenty of sleeping
space in our house and can put several people up at any given
moment.

Sincerely,

Daniel J. Meador
DJM:ple