PUTZEL, HENRY, JR.

Henry Putzel Jr. served as the reporter of decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1964 to 1979. Before becoming reporter, Putzel practiced law and served in a variety of important positions in the federal government. As an attorney with the justice department's civil rights division, Putzel worked to curtail racially discriminatory voting practices.

Putzel was born on October 8, 1913, in Denver, Colorado. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1935 and earned a law degree from Yale in 1938. He entered private law practice in St. Louis, Missouri but left in 1942 for a position in Washington, D.C., as an attorney in the federal Office of Price Administration. In 1945, Putzel transferred to the Justice Department, where he worked in the foreign-agents registration section. He moved to the department's civil rights section in 1948. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in brown v. board of education, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954), which overturned the separate-but-equal doctrine and struck down state-mandated segregation of public schools, Putzel worked on enforcing school desegregation. He also prosecuted individuals who had violated federal criminal civil rights laws. In 1957, he was named to head the voting and elections section of the Justice Department's civil rights division. He investigated allegations of racial discrimination in voting and election fraud.

The U.S. Supreme Court appointed Putzel its reporter of decisions in 1964, the thirteenth person to hold the position. As reporter, Putzel was responsible for the accuracy of each opinion, the preparation of headnotes and a syllabus that summarizes the decisions, and the actual publication of each volume of decisions. During his 15-year tenure, he edited or co-edited 64 volumes (nos. 376–440) of the United States Reports. A major change in reporting procedure occurred while Putzel was reporter: The Court ordered the preparation of headnotes before the announcement of the decision, rather than after the release of the opinion, as had been the practice.

Putzel has maintained a low profile since his retirement in 1979. The supreme court historical society published a transcript of an interview that Putzel gave in the mid-1970s and made it available on its web site (www.supremecourthistory.org). The interview is a valuable historical document, as it captures a way of editing and publication that would soon give way to the personal computer. This technology has allowed the reporter of decisions to move slip opinions into the U.S. Reports more quickly.

further readings

Baier, Paul R. 1980. "A Report on the Reporter—Double Revolving Peripatetic Nitpicker." Supreme Court Historical Society 1980 Yearbook. Available online at <www.supremecourthistory.org/04_library/subs_volumes/04_c16_d.html> (accessed November 20, 2003).

Putzel, Henry, Jr., (b. Denver, Colo., 8 Oct. 1913), reporter of decisions, 1964–1979. Putzel graduated from Yale College (1935) and Yale Law School (1938). After practicing law in St. Louis from 1938 to 1941, he held a succession of federal positions in Washington, D.C. These were attorney for the Office of Price Administration (1942–1945); for the Foreign Agents Registration Section of the Justice Department (1945–1948); and for the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division (1948–1957). Within the Civil Rights Section, Putzel's activities included school desegregation cases and prosecutions against persons who had denied civil rights under color of law.

In 1957 the Justice Department created a separate Civil Rights Division, and Putzel became chief of its Voting and Elections Section. There he was concerned with matters such as racially discriminatory voting practices, and later, with federal election frauds. On 17 February 1964 he was sworn in as the Supreme Court's thirteenth reporter of decisions. Putzel edited or coedited volumes 376 through 440 of the United States Reports. An important change in reporting procedure occurred during his term: the Court ordered headnotes prepared before announcement of an opinion, rather than after announcement, as had been the custom.

Putzel once described three characteristics necessary for a reporter of decisions: being a lawyer, a “word nut,” and a “double revolving peripatetic nit‐picker.” When Putzel retired on 24 February 1979, Chief Justice Warren Burger said that he had “performed the exacting duties of that important office with great distinction and in keeping with the tradition of the twelve men who preceded him in that position.”

Francis Helminski