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Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: Soldier, pragmatist, jobist, skeptic
On May 8, James McPherson and G. Edward White joined moderator Brad Snyder for the second lecture in the Supreme Court Historical Society’s Leon Silverman Lecture series, hosted by Scott Harris, the...
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What does “necessary” mean? And who decides? Reenacting McCulloch v. Maryland
“My colleagues are invisible this evening and I’ve been promoted, apparently,” Justice Breyer quipped from the middle seat on the bench Thursday evening. The Associate Justice was occupying the Chief...
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Divine intent: President Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War
On November 13, Justice Elena Kagan hosted the Supreme Court Historical Society’s fourth and final 2014 Leon Silverman lecture. Professor Lucas Morel of Washington and Lee University was the lecturer....
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After Appomattox: Michael A. Ross discusses Reconstruction and the three...
On March 11, the Supreme Court Historical Society presented the first installment of this year’s Leon Silverman Lecture Series. In acknowledgment of the 150th anniversary of the Confederate surrender...
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Nixon’s Court
The Supreme Court Historical Society recently presented Kevin J. McMahon with its Erwin N. Griswold Prize for his book, Nixon’s Court. Justice Antonin Scalia hosted the winner’s lecture in the...
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Pamela Brandwein re-imagines Reconstruction jurisprudence
Justice Bradley On Wednesday evening, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hosted the second lecture in the 2015 Leon Silverman Lecture Series, which focuses on the Supreme Court and Reconstruction. In her...
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Laura Edwards on consciousness of law before and after the Fourteenth Amendment
Looking back at the early nineteenth century through today’s lens, which generally conceives of justice in terms of individual rights, many Americans – particularly slaves and married women – were...
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Barnett on original meaning and the Privileges or Immunities Clause
“Focus on the original meaning of the words, and let the narrative chips fall where they may,” argued Randy Barnett in a lecture last week sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society. Focusing on...
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Supreme Court stenographers: Law clerks and secretaries of an earlier era
This blog recently featured a series of posts from former law clerks of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. They glowingly portray a stimulating professional and personal experience. Christopher Landau...
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Legal history highlight: The failed election-year nomination of Abe Fortas
The current vacancy on the Supreme Court has generated considerable discussion about the history of Supreme Court nominations – including from Michael Gerhardt for this blog. One oft-cited chapter in...
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Raise a glass (of Madeira) to the “Great Chief Justice”
With the country embroiled in a debate about the future of the Supreme Court, the 215th anniversary of the appointment of Chief Justice John Marshall invites us to consider the historical parallels to...
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Legal history highlight: Justices who left the Court for “better” positions
On February 13, 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away in his sleep, one of forty-nine Justices to die during active service on the Court. Justices are “notoriously reluctant” to leave office, James...
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Edward Larson on the Constitution’s “general contractor,” George Washington
Ask any student of American law or history, and he or she will tell you that James Madison was the architect of the U.S. Constitution. As the author of the most comprehensive notes of the 1787...
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Polly Price on the Chinese Exclusion Case and immigration in the Progressive Era
In 1875, Chae Chan Ping left San Francisco for China with a certificate promising him re-entry upon his return. Congress had recently banned new laborers from China, but it had made an exception for...
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Ginsburg and Sotomayor talk food at the Court
Scholars of constitutional law have long addressed the legal factors that contribute to decision-making by the Justices – such as text, precedent, history, tradition. Perhaps food should be added to...
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Dueling perspectives on Lochner v. United States
Lochner v. New York. The 1905 case represents an entire era of Supreme Court jurisprudence – the “Lochner era.” But what was it about? And was it a good or bad decision? Paul Kens and Randy Barnett...
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Muhammad Ali, conscientious objection, and the Supreme Court’s struggle to...
You’ve probably heard that in 1971 the Supreme Court reversed Muhammad Ali’s conviction for refusing to be inducted into the Selective Service. But why did it do so? What was the legal issue on which...
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New editor Maeva Marcus hopes to move the Holmes Devise towards completion
Maeva Marcus has taken over as the new general editor of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Library of Congress and the Permanent Committee of the...
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Legal history highlight: Two scholars assess the life and legacy of Justice...
Shortly after Edward Sanford was confirmed as the Court’s seventy-second Justice in 1923, an Illinois newspaper observed that liberals were “quite as much pleased over” Sanford’s appointment as they...
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A “view” from the Courtroom: Philadelphia in 1794
PHILADELPHIA, September 19, 1794 — Your correspondent has traveled from the budding City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia to our nation’s capital here to cover a rare jury trial in the...
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