Morton Ira Greenberg

Morton Ira Greenberg was a United States circuit judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1987 to 2000. Born in Philadelphia in 1933, he built a distinguished legal career in New Jersey that spanned private practice, state government service, and the state judiciary before his appointment to the federal bench. President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, nominated him to the Third Circuit in February 1987, and the Senate confirmed him the following month. He assumed senior status in 2000 and passed away in January 2021 at the age of 87. During his tenure on the federal appellate court, he authored significant opinions addressing constitutional questions involving public libraries, antitrust law, and internet regulation.

Early life and legal career

Greenberg was born in Philadelphia on March 20, 1933, though his family relocated to Atlantic City, New Jersey, when he was young. He grew up in the Jewish faith and community. After completing his secondary education, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954. He continued his education at Yale Law School, one of the nation's most prestigious legal institutions, receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1957. During his time at Yale, he distinguished himself academically by serving as a member of the Yale Law Journal, a significant honor that reflected his scholarly abilities and legal acumen.

Following his graduation from law school, Greenberg moved to Trenton, New Jersey's capital, and began his professional legal career in public service. He joined the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General during the gubernatorial administration of Robert B. Meyner, a Democrat, and worked there from 1957 until 1960. This early experience in state government provided him with foundational knowledge of public law and governmental operations.

In 1960, Greenberg transitioned from state government to private legal practice, establishing himself in Cape May, New Jersey, a coastal community in the southern part of the state. He practiced privately for a decade, gaining experience in various areas of law and developing expertise that would serve him throughout his career. His connection to Cape May County deepened when he was appointed County Attorney for Cape May County in 1970, a position he held until 1971. This role involved representing the county government in legal matters and advising county officials.

In 1971, Greenberg returned to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, this time in a more senior capacity as Assistant Attorney General for the State of New Jersey. He served in this position for two years, handling significant legal matters on behalf of the state. His career took another important turn in 1973 when he was appointed to the Superior Court of New Jersey, the state's primary trial court. He initially served in the law division, which handles general civil and criminal matters, before moving to the chancery division, which addresses equity matters such as injunctions and specific performance. In 1980, reflecting his growing stature within the New Jersey judiciary, he was elevated to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, where he reviewed decisions from the trial courts. This experience on the state appellate bench provided valuable preparation for his subsequent service on the federal circuit court.

Federal appellate service

President Ronald Reagan nominated Greenberg to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on February 11, 1987. The vacancy he was nominated to fill had been created by Judge Leonard I. Garth. The Senate confirmed his nomination on March 20, 1987, which happened to be his fifty-fourth birthday. He received his official commission three days later, on March 23, 1987, and began his service on the federal appellate court.

The Third Circuit has jurisdiction over appeals from federal district courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands, making it responsible for reviewing a diverse array of federal legal questions. As a circuit judge, Greenberg participated in three-judge panels that heard appeals and occasionally sat en banc with the full court on matters of particular importance. His tenure on the active bench lasted thirteen years, until he assumed senior status on June 30, 2000. Senior status is a form of semi-retirement that allows federal judges to continue hearing cases on a reduced schedule while creating a vacancy for a new active judge to be appointed.

During his years of federal appellate service, Greenberg authored numerous opinions addressing constitutional law, administrative law, civil rights, and commercial matters. His work reflected the broad jurisdiction of the federal courts of appeals and the varied legal issues that arise from the Third Circuit's geographic area. He served alongside various colleagues on the Third Circuit bench and participated in the court's role as an intermediate appellate tribunal between the district courts and the United States Supreme Court.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Greenberg's judicial philosophy and approach to legal questions can be understood through several significant opinions he authored or participated in during his federal service. His decision-making reflected careful attention to constitutional doctrine, statutory interpretation, and the practical implications of legal rules.

In the case involving Richard Kreimer and the Joint Free Public Library of Morristown and Morris Township, Greenberg wrote an opinion that addressed the intersection of First Amendment rights and municipal authority to regulate public facilities. Kreimer, a homeless individual who had been using the library and various public spaces in Morristown, challenged his expulsion from the library as a violation of his constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court had sided with Kreimer, finding that library regulations requiring proper hygiene were unconstitutionally vague and overbroad under the First Amendment, and that the policies discriminated against homeless persons in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Greenberg's opinion for the Third Circuit reversed the district court's ruling. He articulated a framework treating libraries as "limited public fora," a constitutional category that allows for greater governmental regulation than traditional public forums like streets and parks. His reasoning emphasized that libraries exist only because voters consent to their creation and funding, giving municipalities a legitimate interest in ensuring libraries serve their intended educational and informational purposes. He characterized libraries as inherently places designed for quiet activities such as reading, writing, and contemplation, and concluded that policies protecting these intended uses do not violate constitutional guarantees. Under this framework, any patron whose actions or conditions—including failure to maintain basic hygiene standards—disrupted other patrons' ability to use the library could be subject to removal without constitutional violation.

In the antitrust matter involving LePage's and 3M, Greenberg took a different position from the majority of the Third Circuit sitting en banc. LePage's had sued 3M, alleging anticompetitive conduct related to 3M's dominant position in the adhesive tape market, particularly regarding its Scotch tape product. The case centered on 3M's practice of bundling products together, which LePage's argued was designed to maintain 3M's monopolistic advantage. A jury found in favor of LePage's, and Judge Dolores Sloviter wrote the majority opinion affirming the verdict when the full Third Circuit reviewed the case.

Greenberg authored a dissenting opinion arguing for a different approach to the antitrust questions presented. His dissent contended that companies should be permitted to offer volume discounts and rebates to purchasers, characterizing such practices as legitimate competitive behavior rather than anticompetitive conduct. He argued that the majority opinion effectively penalized 3M for operating more efficiently than its competitor LePage's. His dissent was joined by Chief Judge Anthony Joseph Scirica and by Judge Samuel Alito, who would later be appointed to the United States Supreme Court.

In a case involving the Child Online Protection Act, Greenberg authored an opinion addressing the constitutionality of federal legislation aimed at protecting minors from online pornography. The law had been subject to a preliminary injunction since 1998, which the Supreme Court had upheld, preventing its implementation pending a full trial. After a complete trial in the district court in 2007, the lower court ruled the statute unconstitutional, and the government appealed to the Third Circuit. Greenberg's opinion for the appellate court held that the law failed constitutional scrutiny because it was not narrowly tailored to achieve its stated objective of protecting children. He noted that the law would impose substantial compliance costs on website publishers, even those serving exclusively adult audiences, making the regulatory scheme broader than necessary to accomplish its purpose. The Supreme Court declined to review the Third Circuit's decision, leaving Greenberg's opinion as the final judicial word on the statute's constitutionality.

Greenberg's service on the Third Circuit spanned a period of significant development in federal law, and his opinions contributed to the body of precedent governing constitutional rights, commercial regulation, and internet-age legal questions. He passed away on January 28, 2021, having served the federal judiciary for more than three decades when counting both his active service and senior status.