To celebrate the beginning of this year’s baseball World Series, let’s revisit a few of the moments when the national pastime and the nation’s highest court intersected. The Supreme Court played no small role in the development of major league baseball. In a series of three decisions spread out over the twentieth century, the Court … Continue reading Baseball and the Supreme Court
On this day in 1890, Justice Sherman Minton was born in Georgetown, Indiana. From early in life, Minton seemed to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Among his law school classmates at Indiana University was Wendell Willkie, the Republican ran unsuccessfully against Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential … Continue reading This Day in Supreme Court History—October 20, 1890
On this day in 1991, the Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Thomas, who President George H.W. Bush nominated for the seat that opened after the retirement of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice, experienced one of the most contentious confirmation processes in American history. Critics of Thomas’ conservative record … Continue reading On This Day in Supreme Court History—October 15, 1991
“Marshall,” a movie that opens this week, focuses on a young Thurgood Marshall as he defends an innocent black man accused of rape. The movie portrays the handsome and charismatic Marshall (played by Chadwick Boseman), arriving in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1941 to help defend Joseph Spell, as a man full of confidence and energy. He … Continue reading Movie Review: Marshall
On this day in 1935, the Supreme Court moved into its current home on First Street in Washington, D.C. “After years of moving about and occupying ‘borrowed’ quarters,” read one news account of the day, “the Supreme Court at last has a home of its own—a home which reflects the dignity and prestige of the … Continue reading On This Day in Supreme Court History—October 7, 1935
Monday was the first day of the Supreme Court’s new Term. And yesterday, as has been done for more than 200 years, the Court’s marshal has called the Court to order during the Justices’ entry by saying: “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” The word is derived from the Anglo-Norman term for “hear ye,” according to supremecourthistory.org. The … Continue reading Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!
On this day in 1814 the Supreme Court was torched by British troops. The United States was at war with Britain in what became known as the War of 1812. At the time, the Supreme Court chamber was on the first floor of the north wing of the Capitol building. It had been located here, … Continue reading This Day in Supreme Court History—August 24, 1814
On this day in 1974, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Nixon, a ruling that played a key role in President Richard Nixon’s resignation from office. The justices issued their decision just sixteen days after hearing oral arguments in the case. The President, they held, could not cite executive privilege as a reason for … Continue reading This Day in Supreme Court History—July 24, 1974
On this day in 1989, the Supreme Court handed down Michael H. v. Gerald D., a landmark case on parental rights that highlighted fissures among the justices on the nature of constitutional rights not specifically enumerated in the text of the Constitution. The Court upheld a California law that presumed a child born to a … Continue reading This Day in Supreme Court History—June 15, 1989
On this day in 2005, the Supreme Court decided Roper v. Simmons, one of its most important rulings on the issue of capital punishment. In Roper, the Court held that Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishments” forbids imposing the death penalty for a crime committed by someone under the age of 18. In … Continue reading This Day in Supreme Court History—March 1, 2005