Research never ends. One of the characters in John Paul Stevens: An Independent Life is Judge Julius Hoffman, who presided over the infamous Chicago Seven Trial. In the days before cable TV, commentators and ordinary people forcefully denounced or praised him for his handling of the raucous trial. After the jury verdict in February 1970, Stevens was an official of the Chicago Bar Association, which undertook its own review of the trial and Hoffman's conduct (the results were never published). Stevens told me a few years ago that Hoffman possessed many attributes as a trial judge but seemed to have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the trial. Still, I never found any contemporary evidence of what Stevens thought of Hoffman at the time -- until today (April 2) in the Chicago History Museum. In Hoffman's papers in the museum, I found a letter from Stevens written a few months after the trial. Stevens thanks Hoffman for congratulating him on his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago and adds this about his appointment: "I am honored and excited by the opportunity to earn the respect of our profession by performance rather than mere promise. You have already done so." This may be professional courtesy at work, but I wish I'd had this item for the book.