A tribute to Henry T. King.

• Author: Scharf, Michael P.
• Position: A Tribute to Henry King - Testimonial

Henry King is the reason I'm teaching at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Over the years he became my mentor, friend, and inspiration.

I first met Henry fourteen years ago at a conference at Boston College School of Law commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Nuremberg trial. He was seventy-six years old, but so full of vigor, vision, and passion. Since I had been involved at the State Department in establishing the first modern international criminal tribunal since Nuremberg and he had been a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trial, we had much in common and immediately developed a close friendship.

When Henry learned that I was originally from Shaker Heights, he had this "crazy idea" of bringing me home from Boston to teach law in Cleveland. As a first step in implementing his grand plan, Henry and then Cox Center Director Hiram Chodosh invited me to Case Western in February 2001 to present a talk about the Pan Am 103 bombing trial, which was the subject of a book I was (and still am) writing. A few months later they asked me whether I wanted to interview for the faculty slot that had opened with the retirement of eminent international law professor, Sid Picker. The day I was supposed to travel to Cleveland for my faculty interview and job talk was September 1 l, 2001--a day that would change so much about America and significantly affect the trajectory of both Henry's and my scholarly work.

I had the privilege of being Henry's colleague at Case for eight years, almost every day of which began with a visit or phone call from my wizened friend. Over coffee and Diet Coke, Henry told me countless tales of his times at Nuremberg. He had a photographic memory and the flair of a master storyteller, and could effortlessly transport the listener back in time. Over the years, I myself have observed several of the world's most important war crimes trials-Milosevic and Karadzic (at the Yugoslavia Tribunal), Taylor (at the Special Court for Sierra Leone), Bagasora (at the Rwanda Tribunal), and Duch (at the Cambodia Tribunal)--but somehow my strongest memories are of the Nuremberg trials, through Henry' s retelling.

Though he held so many prestigious offices and jobs over the years, Henry's journey through life was not without bumps and detours. He told me that he was shocked to find that he was somewhat of an outcast upon his return from Nuremberg. At the time, two U.S. Supreme Court Justices publicly castigated the Nuremberg...