What I've Learned: Robert Bloom JD’71

Over a half-century legal career, Boston College Law School Professor—and 1971 graduate—Robert Bloom became a nationally respected expert on the Fourth Amendment, criminal and civil legal procedure, policing, and jailhouse informants. He recently retired from the Law School after teaching for forty years and inspiring generations of students. 

Be a runner, not a fighter. I grew up in public housing in Brighton. There weren’t many Jewish families there, and I often experienced anti-Semitism. I realized that I wasn’t a good fighter, so I became a fast runner—but not fast enough sometimes. 

Sometimes you have to bend the rules a little. My father graduated high school during the Depression. He was always striving to be successful. He wasn’t. He was a retail shoe salesman. My mother was a wonderful person. Her name was Martha. She died in 1977, and my daughter was born a few months later. We followed a Jewish tradition of naming her after someone who passed away. Usually it’s a Hebrew name, but we chose Martha.

A mother’s tears can motivate you. A fourth-grade teacher made my mother cry. She said I was a behavioral problem. I didn’t want
my mother to cry; her life wasn’t that great. So I turned it around. This teacher was invited to all my graduations, and she’s so proud of herself.

Being good at something isn’t always a reason to do it. I went to Boston Latin School and then to Northeastern. I was an accounting major. The best accounting job I had in Northeastern’s co-op program was for Star Market. I would go to this factory where they were making Jell-O, and I would time them. I also had a job at Haskins & Sells, which was one of the larger accounting firms. I did well in accounting, but I just didn’t like it. I wanted to do something more important.

It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re headed. Because I had experienced considerable prejudice, I had a desire to address that. That was really important to me. And law was a way to do that. But third year of law school I got an offer from a large accounting firm. I didn’t want it, but I had to accept because I owed money. Then I got a Reginald Heber Smith fellowship. I took less money. I think I made $12,000 and the accounting firm paid $18,000. That fellowship took me to Savannah, Georgia, where I did civil rights work. From Savannah I went to Cambridge-Somerville Legal Services, representing housing tenants, because I had that background myself. Let me tell you, not too many of my classmates came from public housing.

When it comes to police reform, Northern Ireland shows the way. In an article I wrote, I compared police discrimination against Catholics in Northern Ireland to Blacks in this country. After the Peace Agreement in 1998, Northern Ireland created an omnibus commission made up of sociologists and citizens. They review cases and if the police officer’s done bad, that’s it. Goodbye police officer. It’s completely changed the culture of their policing. We need more of that in our country. Take the George Floyd incident. The police officer had something like eighteen incidents of aggressive behavior. And on the day that he put the knee on George Floyd, he was a supervisor with a couple of younger cops. That speaks volumes. You bring a civil rights action against police officers, and the jury’s largely going to believe officers. So there’s no real way of addressing it. Nothing has really solved it. There’s some progress. Oregon, for example, has citizen review boards that can take action against bad police officers. That’s pretty much what exists in Northern Ireland.

Sometimes, giving is receiving. I wanted to have an emergency fund set up to help students in financial need. I’ve had experiences where my students came in and said, “my computer’s not working and I have exams,” or, “my father is dying, and I have no money for airfare.” I gave money to start the fund, and then students gave money to it. The Bloom Emergency Aid Fund is now endowed. The Law School created a committee to make decisions about giving money. I’m not involved in the decisions. I’m involved only in giving money to the fund. I’m glad that I have left this legacy, which is important to me.

It’s hard to say goodbye. I’m going to be very sad in retirement. I already miss the energy that I get from my students. In my retirement speech I said that what I have loved most about BC is my students. I get invited to their weddings—I even became a justice of the peace for the day and officiated at one of their weddings. I’m so proud of so many of them who have done really wonderful things. And that’s what’s always been important to me. ◽