William M. Wiecek
The Holmes Devise:
Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr left part of his estate to the United States government, and Congress uses that bequest to document and disseminate a history of the Supreme Court. To do so, Congress established a permanent committee that includes the Librarian of Congress. The history of the Court is organized by volumes, each of which is devoted to the tenure of a Chief Justice of the Court. The permanent committee selects the scholar to write a volume.
More information on the Holmes Devise:
Maeva Marcus, “The Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise: An Introduction”, Journal of American Constitutional History, Vol. 4, Iss. 2, Spring 2026. Maeva Marcus is the current general editor of the Holmes Devise. Paul Freund, first editor of the Holmes Devise, was a constitutional historian and professor at Harvard Law School to one William M. Wiecek.
Cambridge University Press publishes the volumes. Early volumes were published by MacMillan Publishers.
Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Chief Justice John Roberts receives an official copy of Volume XII from author, William M. Wiecek.
