Thomas E. Kauper Papers, 1955-1962, 1969-1978, 1993

Researchers interested in Supreme Court appeals and the US Circuit Courts of Appeals, particularly the work of Supreme Court clerks and the writs of certiorari process, will find much material of value in this collection. Approximately one half of the Kauper Papers collection documents Thomas Kauper’s activities as Clerk for Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, particularly his duties in drafting memos for Justice Stewart regarding appeals and writs of certiorari, which are a part of the appeals process in which the Supreme Court orders a lower court to send case records for review. 

Under the writs of certiorari process, individuals can request an appeal of a case from the Supreme Court by petitioning the Court for a writ of certiorari. The Court receives thousands of these requests a year, which are divided among the Justices to review. Law clerks for the Justices will participate in what is informally known as the “cert pool:” receiving the petitions and conducting the initial review and legal research for each petition and writing a memo that summarizes the merits of the petition for the Justice. 

In the writs of certiorari documents, the abbreviation “cert” is used for “writs of certiorari.” “Petr.” and “Petrs.” are also used to refer to “petitioner(s).” The writs cover a wide range of topics, but subjects occurring frequently include Communist Americans, shipping, taxes, labor laws, property and estate rights, and alcohol and drug laws. For a more in-depth listing of topics included in the writs series, please see Appendix A.

The Kauper Papers are also a rich resource documenting the activities of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division during the Ford administration. The materials shine a light on not only the operational workings of the Division, but also key cases and issues they tackled related to corporate property and patents and government antitrust activities. Several pieces of legislation and discussions of their reforms are well represented in the records, including the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, the Patent Law Reform Bill, and the Robinson-Patman Act. There are also several corporate patent and antitrust cases covered, including those involving the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), and American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

In addition, there is a small series containing legal briefs and case files for antitrust cases in the US Circuit Court of Appeals. Best represented in the materials are cases relating to United States of America v. International Business Machines, United States of America v. Champion International, and United States of America v. Martin Linen Supply Company. The briefs in the US Circuit Court of Appeals series are color-coded per Rule 32 of the Federal Rules for Appellate Procedure: “Except for filings by unrepresented parties, the cover of the appellant's brief must be blue; the appellee's, red; an intervenor's or amicus curiae's, green; any reply brief, gray; and any supplemental brief, tan.” Each brief is listed by Docket Number and includes Court and Filing Date information. Docket numbers are formatted as “Last Two Digits of Year-Case Number.” For example, Docket Number 75-1492 is the 1,492nd case of 1975 for a particular court.

There is also a small subset of records within the Department of Justice files relating to Kauper’s work in the Office of Legal Counsel. These files primarily pertain to the Freedom of Information Committee.

The Kauper Papers also include a small number of records from Kauper’s time as a student at the University of Michigan Law School, 1955 – 1960, and a few documents such as publications and reports dated 1978 and 1993 that relate to antitrust cases.

Some series in the collection are organized by case docket number, rather than alphabetically or chronologically. Discerning the topic or nature of a case (particularly in the writs of certiorari series) based on the docket number and case name is difficult to do. The Ford Library therefore recommends that researchers consult with an archivist to locate particular topics within these series. 

Related Materials (December 2025)

 The Ford Library has related materials on antitrust cases, regulatory reform, legislation, and related issues in many collections, including the Philip W. Buchen Files, James M. Cannon Files, John O. Marsh Files, the US Council of Economic Advisers Records, the Edward Hutichson Papers, and the John W. Barnum Papers

In addition, the White House Records Office: Legislation Case Files contain material related to the Antitrust Procedures Act and the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and these folders provide the White House’s opinion and actions on these issues.     

White House Central Files Subject File category BE (Business - Economics) contains materials pertaining to such topics as trade, economic controls, and monopolies, while FG 17-14 (Federal Government Organizations) relates to the Antitrust Division itself and JL 2-1 (Judicial – Legal Matters) covers antitrust cases.

Researchers should consult an archivist for additional materials related to these topics.