While Brandeis was known in his time for his powerful court room presence, there is little evidence of that in his writings. Aside from occasional speeches (such as "What Is Americanism?") the majority of his writings that are remembered today are scholarly articles, lacking the emotional fire that made Brandeis such a formidable presence in the courtroom
In an effort to illustrate that side of the lawyer Brandeis, we present these excerpts from the transcripts of the Congressional investigation of the Ballinger-Pinchot affair. Due to the length of the transcripts, we are unable to provide any examples of Brandeis' cross-examination skills, but we do have the full text of his two closing arguments, which give some idea of Brandeis' considerable powers of persuasion and oration.
A background to the controversy and hearing.
Brandeis' first closing argument. (Adobe Acrobat version, Microsoft Word version.)
Brandeis' second closing argument. (Adobe Acrobat version, Microsoft Word version.)
