The papers document Tehan's career as politician, legislator, and federal district judge. However, the collection contains little primary documentation to confirm the opinion expressed by Carl Thompson in the Wisconsin Democratic Oral History Project that Robert Tehan was the most underrated Democrat of the DOC era. Documentation of his career as a legislator and party leader is covered primarily through biographical clipping scrapbooks rather than organic files. The judicial coverage, however, is much more complete. The papers are arranged as GENERAL CAREER PAPERS, JUDICIAL PAPERS, and PERSONAL PAPERS.
GENERAL CAREER PAPERS. The biographical information in this series includes a brief outline of the Tehan ancestry by Robert Tehan Jr.; short biographical sketches; and the memorial order that closed the U.S. District Court-Eastern District of Wisconsin upon Tehan's death. Scrapbooks, which are only available on microfilm, trace Tehan's full career. The first two volumes deal with his legislative career, the first consisting chiefly of newspaper clippings about Tehan in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1936-1942) and the second containing information about the Wisconsin State Senate (1942-1948) and about his leadership of the Democratic Party as state chairman. The remaining scrapbook covers Tehan's appointment as a federal judge (1949-1975) as well as some of his cases. Loose clippings, also on microfilm and arranged in chronological order, focus on Tehan's dealings with Communists, in particular Edmund V. Bobrowicz, while additional clippings relate to his political and judicial career.
The collection also includes other correspondence arranged to parallel the clippings in subject. Letters to and from constituents are included, as well as letters concerning the state of the Democratic Party under Tehan's leadership. Letters Tehan wrote and received during an illness have been retained for their indication of his personality, as well as thank you letters for Christmas presents sent to political leaders in Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin prior to his judicial appointment. The final set of correspondence concerns problems Tehan encountered with the Woodman Realty Company bankruptcy case and the Milton Margoles bankruptcy and bribery case. This part of the collection also contains federal and state income tax returns from 1951 to 1973 and a collection of speeches made throughout his lifetime. His 1949 installation speech is available in recorded form.
The JUDICIAL PAPERS, the largest portion of the collection, include administrative files, Tehan's very extensive chamber papers, and a small amount of personal material on investment in the WFOX radio and television stations.
Topics covered in the administrative files include judicial calendars for civil, criminal, and pre-trial proceedings, 1949-1964. The correspondence here consists primarily of exchanges with attorneys and judges about cases and related matters. His formal and informal correspondence with other federal departments and agencies is a collection highlight. Additional correspondence concerns the effort to renovate the courtrooms in the Milwaukee Federal Building, Tehan's efforts to obtain attorneys and interpreters for indigent criminal defendants, and professional activities including participation in Seventh Circuit Judicial conferences, 1949-1964.
The chamber papers, arranged alphabetically by plaintiff, represent Tehan's "personal" office files for the cases he adjudicated as opposed to the official court records. It is unclear whether all of his cases are represented, or, more likely, cases Tehan deemed significant. The case files always contain a judicial order or decision by Tehan, but may also include correspondence, news clippings, requests from legal reporter services, decisions from appealed cases, and other papers.
The full gamut of federal civil cases is represented including contracts, patent and anti-trust cases, suits against federal agencies, admiralty cases, and suits questioning the constitutionality or validity of state and federal laws. Among the highlights are cases concerning desegregation and open housing in Milwaukee, and cases featuring prominent Wisconsin corporations such as Kohler, Pabst Brewing, J.I. Case, M&I Banks, Allis-Chalmers, the Milwaukee Braves baseball team, and several Wisconsin railroads. Some of the cases are three-judge court cases where Tehan served with another district court judge and a circuit court judge to decide controversies that raised serious constitutional questions. Other topics covered in these cases include selective service, obscenity, civil rights, labor/management issues, and First Amendment rights. The chamber papers also include a small number of criminal cases covering illegal drugs, liquor stills, prostitution across state lines, and crimes on Indian reservations.
PERSONAL PAPERS include material documenting Tehan's investment in the Milwaukee radio and television station, WFOX. This primarily consists of financial reports, but also includes some news clippings and legal documents arising from the liquidation of the company. Also includes a few photographs, primarily documenting his ascension to the bench.
