American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) was founded in 1878 in Saratoga Springs, New York, as a voluntary, national organization of the legal profession. Its initial membership totaled 289 lawyers, and ...
Architecture of the Supreme Court Building
Chief Justice William Howard Taft liked to think of the Constitution as the “Ark of the Covenant,” and the judiciary as a priestly class guarding its sacred principles. When Taft ...
Australia
Australia has been establishing stronger links with Asia—but has been unable to shake off the British monarchyAustralia's landmass—which can be viewed as the world's largest island—is dominated by a ...
brief
N.1 A document or bundle of documents by which a solicitor instructs a barrister to appear as an advocate in court. Unless the client is receiving financial support from the Community Legal Service, ...
Brown v. Mississippi
297 U.S. 278 (1936), argued 10 Jan. 1936, decided 17 Feb. 1936 by vote of 9 to o; Hughes for the Court. In Brown v. Mississippi, the Supreme Court reversed the convictions of three African-American ...
Calvin Coolidge
(1872–1933)US Republican statesman, 30th President of the USA (1923–29). Highly popular personally, he was seen as an embodiment of thrift, caution, and honesty in a decade when corruption in public ...
chief justice
The chief justice of the United States is the presiding officer of the Supreme Court and the head of the judicial branch of the federal government. The title chief justice ...
clerks of the Justices
Each Supreme Court justice may have a staff of four law clerks. Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice John Paul Stevens, however, chose to employ only three each. The justices ...
court-packing Plan
(1937)On February 5, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent to Congress his Judicial Reorganization Bill. It called for adding one justice to the Supreme Court for every member over ...
Daniel Mannix
(1864–1963),Catholic ecclesiastic. Born in Co. Cork, he taught at Maynooth and became president there in 1903, before being appointed coadjutor archbishop of Melbourne in 1912 and archbishop in 1917. ...
Dejonge v. Oregon
299 U.S. 353 (1937), argued 9 Dec. 1936, decided 4 Jan. 1937 by vote of 8 to 0; Hughes for the Court, Stone not participating. The Court overturned the conviction of Dirk DeJonge, who had been ...
Earle Page
(b. 8 Aug. 1880, d. 20 Dec. 1961).Australian politician Born at Grafton (New South Wales), he graduated from the University of Sydney and became a successful surgeon. After service in World War I, ...
Extrajudicial Activities
The participation of justices in activities outside the normal duties of the judicial office has been an issue throughout the institutional life of the Supreme Court. Such extrajudicial activities ...
Footnote Four
(of United States v. Carolene Products Co.), 304 U.S. 144 (1938), Carolene Products case argued 6 April 1938, decided 25 April 1938; Stone for himself, Hughes, Brandeis, and Roberts, Cardozo ...
Frank, Leo, Case Of
The Leo Frank case, known formally as Frank v. Mangum (1915), concerned the heinous murder of a thirteen-year-old girl, the conviction of a man based on circumstantial evidence, and a ...
Gold Clause Cases
(1935), common collective name for three companion cases of the New Deal era: Norman v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co., 294 U.S. 240; Nortz v. United States, 294 U.S. 317; and Perry v. United States, ...
Harlan Fiske Stone
(born Chesterfield, N.H., 11 October 1872; died Washington, D.C., 22 April 1946). He was a legal educator, lawyer, associate justice (1925–41), and chief justice (1941–46) of the U.S. Supreme Court. ...
History and Law
The relationship between history and law can be understood from at least two fundamentally different perspectives. First, the relationship can be approached from the vantage point of law practice and ...
Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell
290 U.S. 398 (1934), argued 8 and 9 Nov. 1933, decided 8 June 1934 by vote of 5 to 4; Hughes for the Court, Sutherland, Butler, McReynolds, and Van Devanter in dissent. The Court's decision in Home ...
James Clark McReynolds
Associate Justice, 1914–41• Born: Feb. 3, 1862, Elkton, Ky.• Education: Vanderbilt University, B.S., 1882; University of Virginia, LL.B., 1884• Previous government service: assistant U.S. attorney, ...
