Law Professor To Return After Heart Valve Operation

Law school Professor and Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Charles Fried is reported to be in good condition after undergoing heart valve replacement surgery last Wednesday.

Fried is expected to return to work in "about a month," said his wife Anne when interviewed yesterday.

"He is walking, he is talking...all is well," said Anne Fried, who added that her husband would probably be returning home today.

Fried 62, had known for some time that he had a damaged heart valve. He had originally expected to undergo surgery in mid-November, but increasing discomfort led doctors to move up the date of the procedure.

Fried, who is Carter professor of general jurisprudence, teaches a constitutional law class The post has temporarily been taken over by Professor of Law Richard D. Parker.

Students in Fried's class expressed sympathy for the professor, and many of them signed a card for him in class on Wednesday.

"I hope that he gets better as soon as possible," said Jason P. Young, a second-year student. "I like him a lot; he has a unique viewpoint because he is conservative, which is a welcome change."

Fried served as Solicitor General under President Reagan, and several students said they miss his expertise.

"He can speak from vast experience from being solicitor general, knowing a lot of the justices on the Supreme Court and being a justice himself on the Massachusetts Supreme Court," said Evan S. Reynolds, a second-year law student. "He gets right to the point about doctrine."

Parker will retain the same syllabus and casebook, but students said the greatest difficulty in the transition was the time change necessitated by Parker's schedule. The course meetings have changed from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

"First, I think everybody in the class is concerned about [Fried's] well being," said second-year student Elizabeth A. Roff. "But second, people are saying what a hassle it has been that the registrar didn't find a way [to avoid moving the class time]."

Students who cannot make the new time have the option of dropping the class.

"The class seems divided [on the change]. One group thinks it is good to get two perspectives...other people think of it as a disruption in flow," said second-year student Daniel M. Steinman '94-'95.

While Parker is retaining Fried's system of questioning students in panels, students say that his interests in constitutional law are different.

"Professor Parker is more interested in delving behind the opinion for the underlying arguments and assumptions about society," Young said. "Professor Fried is much more interested in the doctrine and how that fits into how constitutional law has developed."