Afterword: A Brief History of Supreme Court Messengers MATTHEW HOFSTEDT Editor’s Note: To helpput Judge Snow’s memoir into context, we asked Matthew Hofstedt, Associate Curator at the Supreme Court, to draw on his institutional expertise and provide readers with a brief, general overview of the role of messengers at the Court. Judge Snow’s service as a Court Mes senger from 1977 to 1978 came during a time of transition when the duties of Court Pages (setting up the Courtroom, sitting behind the Bench during oral argument to run errands, etc.) were being merged with those of Court Messengers (driving Justices to appoint ments, providing public lectures, etc.). The Court’s Page program had ended in 1975, and, after a short period with a Courtroom Attendant position, the duties of the Pages were soon passed along to the Messengers. Eventually, the Messenger position, too, would change into the two modem positions: Aides to Chambers and Marshal’s Aides. These changes brought an end to nearly 140 years of Supreme Court messenger history. In its earliest days, the Court had a small permanent staff: the Crier, the Clerk, and a few deputy clerks.1 When the Court con vened, the U.S. Marshal assigned to the area where the Court was sitting would supply any additional staff needed. Meeting for just a few weeks at a time, and with the Justices generally rooming together in one boarding house, this arrangement proved adequate. In addition, many Justices had their own personal servants, some ofwhom were slaves, who would perform messenger duties.2 By the 1840s, however, the Court’s footprint was spreading across Washington. The Courtroom was lodged in the U.S. Capitol, the Justices’ Consultation Room was in a building a few blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue, and more of the Justices were living in separate accommoda tions.3 With an increasing need to maintain communication around the city, more staff was added, but it is unclear when the title “Messenger” came into use as an official position at the Court. In 1855, for example, ChiefJustice Roger B. Taney referred to some 260 JOURNAL OF SUPREME COURT HISTORY ofthe staffnot as messengers but as “servants about the Court.”4 Following the Civil War, the Court hired Richard C. Parsons as its first Marshal dedicated to serving the Court year-round. Parsons organized the staff to include “assis tants and messengers to attend the court.”5 An employee roster from about 1874 lists twelve messengers: nine assigned to the Justices, with one each in the Clerk’s Room, the Courtroom, and the Robing Room.6 By the late 1880s, the Marshal’s budget routinely included a line item for “Assistants, Messen gers, Pages, and Fireman.”7 Messengers were appointed by the Marshal with the approval of the Chief Justice, largely based on personal references and familial relations. When there was turnover on the Court, the former Justice’s messenger was usually assigned to work for his successor. Not only would this keep a trusted employee on the payroll, but it also provided the new member of the Court with a veteran messenger who could help him adjust to his new routines. The role of the late 19th century mes sengers was described in a Marshal’s Office memorandum: The messengers are permanent em ployees of the Marshal’s Office and carried on his pay-roll. From this force a messenger is detailed for service to each judge. They are paid three dollars per day through the year. They are all colored men, and most of them have long been in the service of the Court and are well versed in their duties. They class as servants to the Court. In the inter change of prooffs] between the judges, and with the printer they have responsible duties, and they carry important papers etc. between thejudges’ chambers and the Capitol every court day. It is part of a messenger’s duty to be the personal attendant on the judge. He procures and serves the judge’s luncheon at the 2 o’clock recess, looks after his robe and his carriage at proper times and performs any personal service the judge desires.8 Depending...