(7 of 9)
Yet to Brother Brennan (Supreme Court Justices refer to one another fraternally), he is "an utterly delightful companion. In conference, no matter how tense the situation, he comes off with his delightful cracks." In the view of Madame Hervé Alphand, wife of the former French ambassador and one of the most noted capital hostesses, he was entirely outgoing. "Zat Abe," she once commented, "he dances with all the girls—long, short, fat, and thin."
Wine & Mead. Fortas is something of an expert on French wine, distills his own mead on occasion, and whips up an excellent fondue. For "light reading" he is currently keeping on his reading table Robert Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra, Willie Morris' North Toward Home, and Giuseppe di Lampedusa's The Leopard.
His wife Carolyn is also a lawyer, specializing in taxes. A warm, vibrant woman with a touch of the feminist—she smokes cigars, insists on using her maiden name, Carolyn Agger, and tools around in her own Rolls-Royce—she seems devoted to her celebrated husband. With no children, the Fortases find ample time for recreation as well as cerebration. During the winter they ski; during the summer they swim. They summer in Westport, Conn., and their permanent home in Georgetown has a swimming pool boasting a bubble top for year-round use.
Aside from the law, Fortas' lifelong interest has been music. His Sunday afternoon music group is famous as the "3025 N Street Strictly-No-Refunds String Quartet." Any visiting violinist or cellist who passes through Washington is likely to be pressed into service. The Justice numbers Rudolf Serkin, Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals among his friends, and has helped to arrange the annual Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. In a jest that his enemies might not recognize, he has sometimes introduced himself at White House functions as "Abe Fortas—I am a violinist." His Italian Guidantus violin may be his proudest possession.
On the Team. On one point, everyone who knows Fortas is agreed: he is an excellent administrator, a quality that should serve him well in his new job. With only one of nine votes, the Chief Justice must lead the court more by persuasion than command. When he agrees with the majority, he assigns the writing of decisions, thus giving himself at least some control over the outcome of the case. He gives his views first in the private conferences in which the Justices discuss cases and, to some extent, determines what cases the court will consider. He also commands the prestige of his office, which can be used to help preserve unity or prevent disunity from becoming bitter and destructive.