Col. (and judge and civil libertarian) Marvin H. Morse, 94, passes away

Let's take a moment to reflect on the legacy of Colonel Marvin Henry Morse, USAFR (Ret.), a former JAG, civil rights attorney, and administrative judge, who died in Florida on 11 February 2024 at 94. His life was one of service to his country and the rule of law.

Colonel Morse was born in Mount Vernon, New York in 1929. After graduating from Colgate University in 1949 and Yale Law School in 1952, he served on active duty as an Air Force judge advocate from 1952 to 1956. Thereafter, he transferred to the Air Force Reserve and engaged in private practice in Louisville, Kentucky, during which time he was part of a team of four that represented “Shuffling Sam” Thompson on behalf of the Kentucky Civil Liberties Union before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Thompson was convicted of loitering and disorderly conduct by the Police Court of Louisville. The loitering charge resulted from what police officers described as Thompson’s dancing by himself in a cafe; the disorderly conviction was for arguing with those police officers about his arrest for loitering. At trial, Thompson testified that when arrested he was waiting for a bus to take him home and had money to pay for the bus. He entered a bus schedule into evidence, establishing that such a bus was due within 30 minutes. The cafe manager testified that Thompson frequently patronized the cafe and he had never objected to Sam’s presence. Despite Thompson’s claims that a conviction would deny him liberty and property without due process of law, the court convicted him of both offenses and fined him $10.

Despite not meeting the jurisdictional requirements for review by any other Kentucky court, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, most likely because vagrancy charges were often used against black men without justification. The Court’s opinion in Thompson v. City of Louisville was a complete victory for Thompson. Justice Black, speaking for a unanimous Court, found “no evidence whatever in the record to support these convictions. Just as ‘Conviction upon a charge not made would be sheer denial of due process,’ so is it a violation of due process to convict and punish a man without evidence of his guilt.” Although a victory for civil rights, the opinion had little effect on Thompson’s life; at the time it was handed down, he was serving a six-month prison term on four other misdemeanor charges. In addition, he had been arrested more than 50 times before his Supreme Court case.

Colonel Morse moved to Washington, DC, in 1962, where he worked for various federal agencies over the next 40 years, including the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Postal Service. An expert in administrative law, he became an Administrative Law Judge in 1973 and served as a judge for the Federal Power Commission, the Postal Rate Commission, the Civil Aeronautics Board, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review. For several years, he managed the ALJ program for the Office of Personnel Management. In 1980, he was elected to the American Law Institute. He was also active for many years with the Federal Bar Association (serving as its President in 1995-96), as well as Democratic Party and Jewish organizations.

Sincere condolences to Col. Morse's family.

___

Thanks to Col. James A. Young, USAF (Ret) for this post.