Jul 21, 2020
Former law clerk John Markey '86 is joined by the Judge’s granddaughter, Bridget Power, and together they speak with Judge Harrington '55 about his family as well as his illustrious career.
Interview originally recorded on February 21, 2020.
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Transcript
Judge Harrington:
I got a lot of breaks in life by being a member of the Holy Cross family through Ed Hanify '33 and Arthur Garrity '41. People have to help you. You can't do much by yourself. And so you have to pay back. I think the greatest joy, it seems a cliche to say, but it is, the great joy you get life is to serve others, if you can help other people. First of all, your family, help them and then other people.
Maura Sweeney:
Welcome to Mission-Driven, where we speak with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. I'm your host Maura Sweeney from the class of 2007, director of Alumni Career Development at Holy Cross. I'm delighted to welcome you to today's show.
In this episode, we hear from the Honorable Edward F. Harrington from the class of 1955. In 1988, Ronald Reagan nominated Judge Harrington to a lifetime appointment to serve as a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He began serving as a federal judge in 1988 and assumed senior status in 2001.
In 2019, Judge Harrington was awarded the inaugural Edward Bennett Williams '41 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Holy Cross Lawyers Association. The award is given on an annual basis for making a positive impact on the administration of justice and demonstrated loyalty to Holy Cross. Former law clerk John Markey from the class of 1986 is joined by the judge's granddaughter, Bridget Power, and together they speak with the judge about his family as well as his illustrious career.
From running into Ernest Hemingway during his time in the Navy, to supporting civil rights leaders in Mississippi in the early '60s, to participating in a trial against Edward Bennett Williams in 1964, their conversation is filled with inspiring and memorable stories. Every step of the way, the Holy Cross network showed its power and influence. A remarkable, yet humble figure, Judge Harrington models the incredible impact that can be made with the foundation of a Holy Cross education.
John Markey:
Hello, this is John Markey from the Holy Cross class of 1986, here to interview Judge Edward F. Harrington, Holy Cross class of 1955 and the recipient of the first ever Edward Bennett Williams Lifetime Achievement Award offered by the Holy Cross Lawyers Association and I'm here with his granddaughter Bridget Power.
Bridget Power:
Hi there.
John Markey:
Judge, if you just want to introduce yourself?
Judge Harrington:
My name's Ted Harrington, class of 1955.
Bridget Power:
I'm Bridget Power. I did not go to Holy Cross but my parents both went here. My grandfather, Ted Harrington, many of my aunts, uncles, relatives, my great grandfather, John J. Harrington, and my grandpa's two brothers, Dan and John Harrington. Didn't go here but feel very connected to Holy Cross.
Bridget Power:
Gramps, I know we've talked about your childhood. I'm wondering if you can share with the audience a little bit about what it was like to be born right after the depression in Fall River, Mass. And what it was like to grow up there.
Judge Harrington:
Well, I grew up in Fall River, which was a middle town. I grew up in the heart of the depression in 1933. It was a different world. Money was not that available. Although I was very lucky in that my father was a schoolteacher and had a full job. I grew up in, I would say, an Irish American neighborhood and our concerns were education, sports, politics, religion.
I know in my family since both of my parents were teachers, education was very important to us. I was lucky enough to have books in the house and education as maybe one of the most important objects of my young life.
Bridget Power:
Can you say a little bit more about what your education was like?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I went to a parochial school which had about 900 students. It was the parish school. In Fall River, in that era, there were 27 parishes. It was a very strong Catholic community. We had a very good grammar school and then I went to the public high school where my father taught and it was a rigorous education at the Durfee High School.
And I always felt that I was very lucky to have had the educational background that I received in Fall River and I came to Holy Cross in the fall of 1951, very prepared for the rigors of Holy Cross' education.
Bridget Power:
Do you remember your first time visiting Holy Cross when your dad had gone to Holy Cross?
Judge Harrington:
My first memory of Holy Cross was in 1942. I was at Fenway Park in the great football game between Boston College and Holy Cross. At that date, Boston College was the number one football team in America. Holy Cross had a lackluster season.
However, Holy Cross beat Boston College at Fenway Park in November of 1942, just after the war started, 55-12, in the greatest upset in the history of New England Sports. That was my first connection with Holy Cross, although it was in Boston in Fenway Park. I think the first time I came here although my father used to come up to football games, I came here in I think 1950 to meet some of the officials here to see if I could get in to Holy Cross in the next year.
John Markey:
Judge, that 55-12 game was that the famous Coconut Grove fire game, if you want to just tell us a little bit of that story afterwards?
The great thing on behalf of Boston College, Boston College if they had won that game, were going to celebrate at the Coconut Grove Nightclub in Boston. Because of their devastating defeat, they called off the celebratory dinner that evening. However, 500 people died in a fire that night at the Coconut Grove Nightclub, at that time, the biggest arson type of damage in the history of the United States. So in a way Boston College and the people who were their fans were saved for not going to the Coconut Grove, which is still... I don't think it's ever been... There's been no fire since, I believe, that's ever come close maybe in the United States.
John Markey:
Judge, you mentioned growing up in Florida with lots of books in the house either from your parents are from your aunts who are also teachers. Do you recall particular books that they encouraged you to read or books that you read during your middle school or high school years that were formative or authors that you liked?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I think my two most influential authors from high school and also here at Holy Cross was William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair, the great Victorian novel and Boswell's Johnson. I've always been fascinated with Johnson, what they call him, the great robust common French philosopher who taught everybody who read them closely that the privilege of education is to see things as they are. I think Thackeray and Johnson were my greatest influences both in high school and here at Holy Cross.
John Markey:
You also mentioned, Judge, that sports and politics in Fall River and in your family were things that were focuses of your life as a younger person growing up. Could you tell us a little bit about why politics was important to you and also any examples of lessons you learned in sports?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I think in politics, my grandfather was a politician. I think I've indicated that the reason my father came to Holy Cross is that in the early part of the last century, my grandfather served in the House of Representatives in Boston and he was a close associate of Governor David I. Walsh. David I. Walsh was a graduate of Holy Cross (1893) and was the first Catholic governor of Massachusetts. I believe he was elected in 1914 during the heart of the Progressive Era.
My grandfather, who I don't believe he got out of grammar school, but was a very formidable politician and a person who was very interested in running, he was very impressed with the culture and the knowledge of Progressive Era. His erudition impressed my grandfather greatly, and as a result, he decided to send his son, my father, here the Holy Cross because he felt that if any place could turn out someone like Governor Walsh, he'd like his son to be exposed to that education.
John Markey:
How about on the side of sports and character development that that had for you at Durfee High School?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I was an average athlete, very average. I played three sports, partly because my father was not only a Latin teacher but he was an assistant coach in various spots so I always got a suit. But Durfee was a powerhouse in the days I was there. And I had the opportunity to play, usually on the bench but at least in practice to play with some of the great athletes.
We had Henry Nolga, Andy Faricy, Joe Andrews, Tommy Gastall who were known all over the state and sports teacher won a lot. You realized that there's somebody always better than you are. And I think sports teacher teaches you that you lose more than you win. You don't win all games and you don't win every battle in life. And sports were a great teacher. As I indicated, I grew up in a Irish-American culture, if that's what you call it. But sports and politics and education and religion were part of the atmosphere.
John Markey:
Judge, when you came to Holy Cross, the culture of the place or kind of the mission of the place at that point, an all boys school or all men were here, what was the overall lesson that kind of the leader-
Judge Harrington:
Well, it was kind of a... In those days, we had an honors course and I was lucky and very fortunate to be a part of that. We had top students from all over the country. The competition was great. On the other hand, it was a rough house school. A bunch of guys, all horsing around. It was enjoyable. The studying was hard. It was rigorous. I loved it because I enjoyed studying. I really did.
On the other hand, the sports were great. Not only the major sports for the school, Holy Cross was a top team in three sports. While I was here, we won the NCAA in baseball and won the NIT in basketball. But the competition in intramurals was tremendous too. Thinking back, what I got out of it was a great education. A liberal arts education which exposed the student to all the channels of culture, not only English literature, but art and philosophy and the classics and the drama.
When we came here, we weren't thinking or at least I wasn't thinking that I'm coming here for a job. I wasn't even thinking what I was going to do. To expand my life, to live not an intellectual life but a life concerned with trying to find out the truth, to follow your conscience as best you could, to learn so as to develop your capacities, wherever they may be, so that you could pay back, that you could make some contribution to the society and I guess in which you lived.
Bridget Power:
Were there any teachers or mentors or Jesuits here who really impacted your life during those four years that you spent here?
Judge Harrington:
Well of course. I remember Father Ahearn who taught me Latin. Latin was a great discipline for sharpening the mind. You had to think hard to understand Latin and also it was a great basis for the understanding of grammar in the English language.
Father Bean taught rhetoric. Second year was opened up. I remember we had the Lincoln Douglas debates as an example of rhetorical law or rhetorical brilliance. And there was a Father Heron who taught ethics which to me was maybe one of the greatest courses I ever had. It brought together Aristotelian philosophy with Aquinas' infusion, Aristotle's philosophy with the Christian religion, which gave one a strong basis for how one should live their lives. Those are three names that... I'm sure there are others.
John Markey:
Were there any of the teachers or Jesuits who spoke to you about recommendations regarding your career choices that you would be making after college?
Judge Harrington:
Yeah, there was. Father Kelleher, who previously had been the president of Boston College was my Cardinal-Prefect. And in those days we had orals, philosophy orals at the end of the year. And I did fairly well on the oral of both my third and fourth year. And I remember Father Kelleher came to see me one night and he told me that he had been following my scholastic career and that he thought I had, the way he put it, he said, "You haven't got a creative mind," he said, "but you have an acute intelligence and you should consider becoming a lawyer."
Well, I wasn't thinking too much of what I was going to do because I was going to... I was NROTC here at Holy Cross and I was going in the Navy and so I figured I wouldn't have to worry about what I was going to do for a couple years. But a couple of years later, when I was getting out of the Navy, I recalled Father Kelleher, his advice and decided to go to law school, even though I had not given any thought prior to going to law school. I said I'll try it out. And it was a fortunate choice.
John Markey:
In your couple of years in the Navy, what were the formative experiences of that part of your career in life?
Judge Harrington:
I think responsibility. You go from a guy here at Holy Cross, pouring water on guys out the window or getting in fistfights over matters of juvenilia, I guess you'd call it and then you'll find yourself on the folks all over destroyer and you got all these guys looking up at you saying, "Who's this Bob? He's walking around with a uniform. He's never been to sea. Why are you with the chief?" Wow. You had to give orders to a group of sailors, a whole bunch of tough guys.
Really, for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of... That I had to carry out orders and impose orders with a great education. I enjoyed the Navy and if I was any good at science, I think I might have stayed but even in those days, it was getting highly intricate, highly technical to run guns and to navigate, shoot off torpedoes or bomb subs. It wasn't my inclination. And that's one thing I've learned that people should do what they were inclined to do because I think that they do better at it.
I realized I didn't have the scientific proclivity to stay in the Navy, because if I had I would have because it's a great adventure. You're out there in gales, storms, going ashore in foreign countries. It's exhilarating. But I didn't have the qualities for it.
John Markey:
Judge, you had previously told me a story about the interaction when you were in the Navy with one of your favorite writers. I don't know Bridget knows the story of you down in Cuba meeting or interacting or seeing Ernest Hemingway when you were in the Navy.
Judge Harrington:
Yeah, that's right. I read Hemingway here. One of the courses I took as a senior was Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Sherwood Anderson, the writers of the '20s and '30s which I had never read because in high school and in college up until my senior year, you were reading the Victorian authors, the romantic poets. But the last year, I took the 20th century novel. And I read the Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls and Farewell Toms as well as a lot of stuff by Fitzgerald. And I ended up, when I left Holy Cross on a destroyer out of Key West, where Hemingway spent the '30s.
And then this was pre-Castro. We used to go to Havana every two months. And I was always seeking out Hemingway at his famous bar room called La Floridita. And I'd been there seven or eight times I never saw him. Then one time, I just stumbled in there and there he is. The great Hemingway sitting in the corner. I sat there for an hour trying to get the courage to go over and say halo to him, but I was too shy. I'm glad you brought it up, because the last couple of months, I've been reading his short stories again.
Sometimes he was a macho guy, but he had the soul of a poet hidden, hidden behind his bravado. Very, very sensitive person. I wish I had spoken to him.
Bridget Power:
Gramps, didn't you see him another time? Didn't you see him another time?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I did. Not personally, but in 1954, I went on my... As I said, I was a NROTC here at Holy Cross and we went on a Midshipman cruise at the end of our junior year. It was a great cruise. We went to Canada and then we went to Havana. Then we went to Guantanamo. And one Sunday afternoon in Havana harbor, this was 1954, as you know, pre-Castro, there were 13 ships in the harbor and the PA system said, "The American writer, Ernest Hemingway, is circling the harbor in his yacht. And he wants to salute the American fleet."
And so, here he is. He's only a writer. But he was so celebrated that all the sailors, they even knew of him. And they all flocked the fan tail of all the ships. And there were 13 or 14 ships and Hemingway was standing on his yacht with a glass of rum in his hand saluting the chief. He got the most tremendous cheer. And if you remember, this was August of 1954.
Hemingway had crashed twice in Africa on two days in a row in an airplane. And his death was reported all over the world. Like The New York Times would say, "Hemingway dies in plane crash in Uganda," or one of those countries over there. I can't remember which one. He had just returned from Africa because he was laid up in a hospital for a long time.
And so here he is, back in Havana where he lived and he wanted to salute the American fleet and he got a tremendous ovation because he was such a celebrated figure that even the sailors, I'm sure most of them had not read about him, but they had heard of him because he was such an adventurer, and they gave such a tremendous cheer. I'll never forget it.
Bridget Power:
What was it like transitioning from the Navy and going to law school?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I'll tell you this. Well, the normal deflation, you're an officer, you're a big shot, you're running guys on the foxhole, you tell them what to do and then you were a student again. It was somewhat deflated. But the education that I received here at Holy Cross, the ability to read and to write clearly and the ability to think vigorously made law school so much easier than college. I found law school, I wouldn't say a breeze but I just happened to be... I found my field. I had an inclination towards it.
And because of the background I received here at Holy Cross, it was a relatively easy process. When I think back, I got married just before I went to law school. I must have been an optimist because by the time I got out of law school, I had your uncle Johnny and your mother. I don't know how we lived. I'm glad my father used to send $30 a month to get us by but law school was relatively easy. I enjoyed it.
Bridget Power:
And then you went to Washington?
Judge Harrington:
Yeah. Well, I got out in 1960 from law school and I became a law clerk for the chief judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court from 1960 to '61. And then, I went to Washington when that term was up in 1961. And had the good fortune to be a part of the United States Department of Justice.
Bridget Power:
Going back to your time in Washington grandpa, I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about... This was civil rights activity was happening, organized crime, you can talk about what your role was.
Judge Harrington:
Well, I was, again, very fortunate to be selected as one of approximately 15 attorneys to be a member of the so-called Hoffa investigations which was a prime concern of the Attorney General. The Attorney General felt that James Hoffa, the leader of the Teamsters Union, was a corrupt labor official who had close contact with the syndicate. And as a result, being a member of that so-called Hoffa squad, I was able to be involved in grand juries conducted all over the United States, especially in Miami, Louisville, in Chicago.
And so I got a lot of practice in the conduct of grand juries and trials. And also in 1964, the members of that so-called Hoffa squad were charged by Attorney General Kennedy to go to Mississippi during the so-called long hot summer of 1964 to help protect the rights of the civil rights volunteers who are going to Mississippi to conduct freedom schools. You recall that a year later, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act of '65 was enacted. This was in preparation for that.
John Markey:
And then, Judge, you had mentioned that the award you received is named after Edward Bennett Williams. At one point during your work with the organized crime force, did you have the opportunity to have a trial against or in which you participated in Attorney Williams-
Judge Harrington:
Yeah, in 1964 there was a case called United States versus Alderisio. Phil Alderisio was a hoodlum out of Chicago. And we were in Miami on and off for a year in an investigation against Santo Trafficante. Trafficante was the mob boss of Florida and he ran the rackets in Havana, Cuba prior to Castro.
The grand jury could never get sufficient evidence on Trafficante, but we came up with Phil Alderisio. Ed Williams was the most celebrated trial lawyer of that era and he was Alderisio's lawyer. I only occupied the second seat. I wasn't the main lawyer. I was doing the research, the legal briefs and the legal research but I was still nervous because it was my first big trial. I went to the men's room and I heard someone regurgitating and it was... Ed Williams emerged.
had known him a little because he always at the Department of Justice with some of his clients. And I had known him through this. And I said, "Are you feeling sick?" And he said, "My stomach gets upset always before trial." And as I indicated maybe to you, I used to get angry at myself because I used to get nervous before trials. I said, "I'm not going to chastise myself anymore. If Ed Williams, the greatest lawyer in America gets a nervous stomach, well I shouldn't be too tough on myself."
He went out a half hour later and he was a brilliant speaker. Excellent. What a beautiful speaker and great presence, great tone. He'd fill the court room. But a half hour before, he was throwing up. It's amazing. But to be named after Williams, as I indicated before, he not only was a great trial lawyer, he was as his biographer said, a man to see. He was, along with Clark Clifford, the most influential lawyer in DC. Everybody knew him, everybody wanted him as a lawyer. And you could see why he was. He had presence. He had presence.
John Markey:
What role did Holy Cross play in getting you connected with the people who could get your career started with the department of justice?
Judge Harrington:
Well, Ed Hanify was a graduate of Holy Cross (1933). There's a forum here named after Ed's father (class of 1904), The Hanify Lectures. He was able to, through his great influence, and he was the most influential lawyer I would say in New England at the era. He was John Kennedy's private lawyer. He was a man of great, great influence.
In fact, some people say that if Jack Kennedy had a second term, Ed Hanify was slated to go to the Supreme Court. He was able to... He was my sponsor, because I went to Holy Cross. And he knew Judge Reardon who I served under at the Massachusetts Superior Court. He was my sponsor to get me to become a member of the Department of Justice in 1961, which was a great opportunity. Because if you read the history of the new frontier, the Kennedy administration, an awful lot of the activity of that administration was generated at the Department of Justice.
Ed Hanify was the one who was able to get me to become a member. That was a great boost to my career and what would be approximately 26 years later. Ed Hanify who is the managing partner at Ropes & Gray, still, I believe, went to Washington on my behalf in 1987 to advocate my confirmation before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was a great boost, because if you know, 1987 was the controversy over Justice Bork. And the contentions between the parties was very intense.
Hanify's appearance there, and the prestige that he possessed was very influential in my being confirmed by a democratic controlled Senate for a republican appointee. I was appointed or nominated by Reagan. But the Senate was controlled by the Democrats and the tensions between the parties over the Bork debacle was very intense.
Bridget Power:
You came back to Massachusetts after a couple years in Washington. Can you talk about what you did?
Judge Harrington:
Well there's another Holy Cross connection. I went to Washington because of Ed Hanify. And I came back to Boston because of Arthur Garrity (Class of 1941). Arthur Garrity was the United States Attorney for Massachusetts in 1965. I was in Washington, approximately four years. But Robert Kennedy left main justice in September of '64 to go to New York to run for Senate. And so the people who were the so-called Kennedy people in the Johnson administration were peeling off and leaving because our influence had diminished after Jack Kennedy was assassinated and when Bobby left main justice.
Arthur Garrity hired me primarily because I went to Holy Cross. Arthur Garrity was class of '41, Ed Williams' class. And just as an aside, when I went on to the district court for the District of Massachusetts, I replaced Andrew Caffrey, class of '41 at Holy Cross. But Arthur Garrity did two things for me. He brought me back to Boston to be a member of the United States Attorney's Office and there were only 15 assistants. It was a prestigious position. Now they have 150 assistant US attorneys. In those days, they were only 15.
If you ever got into the US attorney's office, as I did at the behest of Arthur Garrity, you had great prestige. And then 25 years later again, I'm going through the Senate judiciary hearing for my confirmation. I'm a republican appointee in a body that's controlled by the Democrats. They're not giving me a hearing because of the Bork situation. Arthur Garrity, a democrat calls Ted Kennedy and asks Ted to see what he could do to get me a hearing.
Well, because of the relationship between Arthur Garrity and Ted Kennedy, Ted not only got me a hearing, he got me a 14-0 to confirm me. But both by going to the department, by becoming an assistant US Attorney and being confirmed as a United States district judge for the district of Massachusetts, all were caused by Ed Hanify Holy Cross, Arthur Garrity Holy Cross, because I was a graduate of this great school.
John Markey:
During the 1970s, you had a tenure as the United States Attorney for the district of Massachusetts. What were your priorities and experiences from that time period that you'd like to share just as experiences when you held that position?
Judge Harrington:
Well, the job of the US Attorney's throughout the United States, they carry out the policy of the administration. During the time that I was an assistant US attorney, organized crime was a major focus of the Department of Justice under the Kennedy administration.
When I came back in the '70s, Jimmy Carter was the president. And the policy of the Department of Justice at that time was white collar crime and public corruption. Although there was still some interest in organized crime, the focus shifted to public corruption and especially political corruption. It's a very difficult area to operate in because you make a lot of enemies.
But the Carter administration really was the first administration that stressed public corruption. And it was an exhilarating time. But as a result, when you left the office, you didn't have too many friends.
Bridget Power:
Gramps, then you decided to run for elected office. Can you talk about what motivated you to do that?
Judge Harrington:
I don't know what I think of it. As they say, I ran. I'm a footnote Massachusetts history. I ran in 1974 for Attorney General, as a Democrat. I ran in 1986 as a Republican and got beat both times. And so the reason I saw people, a lot of wags say, the reason they put me on the court because they say, "The guy's going to run as a communist next time. So let's get rid of this guy and put him on the court." I don't know... I enjoyed public affairs.
As I say, one Irishman didn't, we were brought up in that atmosphere. Politics was if we were talking sports, we're talking politics. I figured I'd give it a try. And that was very enjoyable. In fact, I was living in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in the summertime, where I've lived for my whole life. And my father would go around to get some of my children to distribute brochures and they hated it. And I got beat pretty badly but forced against that will lay and distribute political literature.
I wish my children had done better in distributing the brochures because I got beat badly on both occasions. But that's the great thing about sports. You got to know how to lose in sports and in politics. You're going to take it and you've got to be a good sport about it. If you get beat, shake the guy's hand.
Bridget Power:
Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like to be a judge in Massachusetts, what that experience was like? I know you've been senior status for a while, but...
Judge Harrington:
Well, all I can say, being a judge brings all your qualities and your experiences together. Especially on the federal court, you get a wide expanse of cases towards contracts, anti-trust, patent, copyright, tax.
So you have to be somewhat versatile. It's an intellectual job. It's exciting intellectually. And when you're an active judge, which I no longer am, I'm just a senior judge who just does mediations part-time, but you've got a docket of 500 cases. Every day, you're making 20 to 25 decisions and it's all I could say. It's intellectually exhilarating. The toughest part of the job is sentencing people.
When you're a prosecutor, all you can think about is convicting someone and imposing the best you can get, meaning the toughest sentence. That's your attitude. When you're a judge and you have to impose a sentence, you're much more sensitive and I found from being a tough prosecutor to being a more compassionate person as a judge than I was, as a trial lawyer. Maybe I got older, but I treated the imposition of sentence, with much more sensitivity than I ever expected it for myself and a lot of my adversaries expected from me.
It's really... When you sit there and you have the determination in your hands whether somebody is going to do five years or 10 years, it's a grave responsibility and it makes you more sensitive.
Bridget Power:
As a judge, you had a lot of law clerks, including John. Can you talk about what it means to be a mentor what you saw as your role?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I never thought I was a mentor. I know this. That to be a law clerk as John was, you had to be pretty high in your class in law school. I found myself that I was taught an awful lot. I don't mean this in false modesty. The law clerks I had were all brilliant people and they taught me an awful lot. Because as a practicing lawyer, I did primarily criminal law and personal liability. But when you go on the federal bench, you have, as I indicated, a vast array of disciplines that you've had really little experience in.
So you need the input from the law clerks because they're all very, very smart. And I've always said that I believe and I believe this truly, that I was taught more by my law clerks than I ever taught them.
Bridget Power:
Currently, grandpa, you're 86 years old and you work part time as a mediator. Can you talk about what that is like for you? I know it brings you a lot of joy.
Judge Harrington:
It brings me joy. And it's a great... It gives you an opportunity to resolve a dispute. That's the purpose of law, isn't it? To resolve disputes. Well, when you go to a mediation hearing, you will have briefs from both sides. You understand the facts. You understand the law and you try to show each side the strengths and weaknesses of their case in order to bring them closer together.
And you are the impartial arbitrator. You can't decide the case but you hope by your experience and insight, that you can give an objective view as to the merits of the case and what it's worth. You find that you can be successful and it's a great vehicle for the resolution of disputes.
John Markey:
Judge, if you want to give someone who's a Holy Cross student now or a recent graduate thinking of becoming a lawyer, advice on what you think would help them have a successful legal career, what are the skills, character traits, etc advice you'd give them?
Judge Harrington:
Well, first of all, you got to be studious in whatever avenue you take. As we know, education is a lifetime process. All you get really are the interest and the tools going to school. But you have to be studious throughout your whole life. Trying to find out what is truthful, what is the right thing to do? That's the first thing you got to be.
I think you should go as I hinted before going to something that you will have a natural proclivity towards because if you have a natural proclivity, you're apt to be able to do it better. Which is like I indicated, I love the navy because it was a rough life. It was enjoyable being at sea. But I didn't have the capabilities of being the scientific background to what? To make an impact.
Second thing, you have to do what you want to do, which you get joy out of. You're going to spend a lot of time working. You got to enjoy it. Some times, I think the worst thing that could happen to anybody through miscalculation, you get into a job that you don't like because you going to spend most of your life at work. So you have to be a person of character, you have to be a thinker and you have to enjoy your work. Whatever.
And here's the other thing. I got a lot of breaks in life by being a member of the Holy Cross family through Ed Hanify and Arthur Garrity. People have to help you. You can't do much by yourself. And so, you have to pay back. I think the greatest joy, it seems a cliche to say but it is, the great joy you get in life is to serve others. If you can help other people. First of all your family, help them and then other people. And then you've got to respect people. Just because you're a judge, you're no better than anybody else. Everybody is doing their job and everything's important. My father taught me that.
He said, "Just because a guy doesn't know Latin, that doesn't mean anything. He could fix a car. Can you fix a car?" No. I can't even open the hood. I can't. My father couldn't. We were just bookish guys. We couldn't do anything. That's why I'm wondering where I am today. I can't even make a ham sandwich. That's true. This guys who do things. My father, he had a great rapport with the so-called regular guys. These regular guys are smart. They could do things you can't do. So never think you're a big shot. Show respect to people. That's all I can say.
Bridget Power:
You mentioned your dad, Grandpa, I think great grandpa Harrington came to Holy Cross in 1924 (John J. Harringon, class of 1928). Our family's been here for almost 100 years. Jackie is a current student, my cousin Jackie.
Judge Harrington:
Yup.
Bridget Power:
Is that right?
Judge Harrington:
We've had 17 family members here, over four generations. My brother Johnny was a brilliant guy (Class of 1958). My brother Johnny, he was a down to earth guy. He was a great medical thinker. He loved Holy Cross. My brother Dan went here (Class of 1960). My brother Dan, he wasn't an intellectual like Johnny was, but he was a sole practitioner. He was a great diagnostician. I run into people at Fall River today talking about my brother Dan. They were regular guys. They were studious guys. They loved Holy Cross. I've been lucky. I had a great family, which is most important. I had a great wife.
Bridget Power:
Gramps, last question. You're an avid reader. What are you reading these days?
Judge Harrington:
Well, I just happen to be saying I've been reading this last book I've reading, Hemingway Short Stories. I read The Education of Henry Adams which taught me once again that he named his autobiography, The Education, letting us all know that education doesn't stop when you get your diploma. What else have I read? I've read Rasselas by Johnson. You should read that. Have you ever read it?
Bridget Power:
No.
Judge Harrington:
It told you one thing, that you never achieve full satisfaction here on Earth. It's almost conforms with the Catholic religion because of the spirituality of the soul. That material things cannot satisfy you. That whatever you search for, you're usually not going to receive or if you do, it doesn't satisfy you.
I read Rasselas once every few years because I think Johnson was a great, great thinker and he taught me one thing. He said, "Read biography," that was one of his injunctions. "Read biography to see how other people have managed the trials, the triumphs, the tribulations of life. See how they've handled it." And so I always try every few weeks to get a biography of someone have to see how they've managed their life. Hopefully, it'll guide me in mine.
Maura Sweeney:
That's our show. I hope you enjoyed hearing about just one of the many ways that Holy Cross alumni have been inspired by the mission to be men and women for and with others. A special thanks to today's guests and everyone at Holy Cross who has contributed to making this podcast a reality.
If you or someone you know would like to be featured on this podcast, please send us an email at alumnicareers@holycross.edu. If you like what you hear, then please leave us a review. This podcast is brought to you by the Office of Alumni Relations at the College of the Holy Cross.
You can subscribe for future episodes wherever you find your podcasts. I'm your host Maura Sweeney and this is Mission-Driven. In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, "Now go forth and set the world on fire."
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