A Tribute to Jerry Israel: A Friend with a Messy Office

When the Board of Editors asked me whether I would be willing to write a few words for an issue of the Michigan Law Review that would honor Jerry Israel, I was certain of two things. First, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to heap praise upon a friend who has had an extraordinary influence upon the law: as a careful and meticulous scholar; a sympathetic, but rigorous teacher; and as a generous colleague who has helped and inspired many younger academics, among whom I am happy to be counted. Second, I knew that I would be at a serious disadvantage in chronicling and celebrating aspects of Jerry's long and successful career. Jerry and I met only in 1992, when I arrived at Michigan to begin my teaching career. I was confident that colleagues like Yale Kamisar and Wayne LaFave who after all, began their immensely productive collaboration with Jerry sometime around 19691 would have countless stories to tell (of deadlines, Supreme Court citations, and perhaps even one or two sporting events) that reached back into decades about which I could claim no expertise. So I accepted the invitation, determining that I would write about that aspect of Jerry and Jerry's contribution to Michigan that I personally know best: the friendship and generosity that he has extended to younger colleagues in the field of criminal law and procedure, and the ways in which his thoughtful, pragmatic analysis of legal problems, illuminated by the considerable erudition that he brings to bear on criminal justice issues, has helped those of us just starting out in our aca-