Great American Judges AN ENCYCLOPEDIA Great American Judges AN ENCYCLOPEDIA v olume one a–k John R. Vile Foreword by Kermit L. Hall Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado Oxford, England Copyright 2003 by John R. Vile All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Great American judges : an encyclopedia / [edited by] John R. Vile. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-57607-989-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-57607-990-2 (e-book) 1. Judges—United States—Biography—Encyclopedias. I. Vile, John. R. KF8775.A68G64 2003 347.73' 14' 0922—dc21 2003004203 07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an e-book. Visit abc-clio.com for details. ABC-CLIO, Inc. 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Manufactured in the United States of America Dedicated to those individuals throughout American history who have used their positions as judges and justices to perpetuate constitutional government and equal justice under the law Contents List of Sidebars xiii Foreword, Kermit L. Hall xvii Introduction, John R. Vile xxi Special Acknowledgments xlv v olume one Shirley Schlanger Abrahamson (1933– ), Jennifer Harrison 1 Florence Ellinwood Allen (1884–1966), Angela White 8 Samuel Ames (1806–1865), Henry B. Sirgo 20 Charles Fremont Amidon (1856–1937), Tim Hurley 25 John Appleton (1804–1891), Judith Haydel 32 David L. Bazelon (1909–1993), Geoffrey P. Hull 39 Roy Bean (1825–1903), John R. Vile 46 Griffin Bell (1918– ), Stephen Louis A. Dillard 55 Rose Elizabeth Bird (1936–1999), Sara Zeigler 66 Hugo Lafayette Black (1886–1971), Tinsley E. Yarbrough 75 Isaac Blackford (1786–1859), J. Mitchell Pickerill 84 Luther Lee Bohanon (1902– ), Jace Weaver 93 Hugh Lennox Bond (1828–1893), Peter G. Fish 102 Robert H. Bork (1927– ), Scott D. Gerber 111 Louis Dembitz Brandeis (1856–1941), Bruce Allen Murphy and Maria A. Fekete 121 John R. Brown (1909–1993), Clyde Willis 131 Warren Burger (1907–1995), Frank Guliuzza 141 vii Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870–1938), Otis H. Stephens 153 Walter Clark (1846–1924), William G. Ross 161 George Franklin Comstock (1811–1892), Douglas P. Sadler 168 Thomas McIntyre Cooley (1824–1898), James W. Ely Jr. 175 William Cranch (1769–1855), Clyde Willis 182 John Davis (1761–1847), Robert W. Smith 191 Matthew Paul Deady (1824–1893), Henry Sirgo 196 Charles Cogswell Doe (1830–1896), James Wagoner 205 Thomas Drummond (1809–1890), Kevin Collins 212 Frank Hoover Easterbrook (1948– ), J. Mitchell Pickerill 221 Henry White Edgerton (1888–1970), Dean Alfange Jr. 229 Richard Alan Enslen (1931– ), Christopher Smith 239 Stephen J. Field (1816–1899), James W. Ely Jr. 247 Jerome New Frank (1889–1957), William D. Pederson 257 Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965), Bruce Allen Murphy and Arthur Owens 264 Henry Jacob Friendly (1903–1986), Ronald Kahn 273 John Bannister Gibson (1780–1853), Donald Grier Stephenson Jr. 287 Horace Gray (1828–1902), Clyde Willis 296 Nathan Green Sr. (1792–1866), M. Keith Siskin 304 Augustus Noble Hand (1869–1954), Mark A. Fulks 311 Learned Hand (1872–1961), Ken Gormley 319 John Marshall Harlan (1833–1911), Linda Przybyszewski 330 John Marshall Harlan II (1899–1971), Tinsley E. Yarbrough 338 William Harper (1790–1847), John R. Vile 345 William Henry Hastie (1904–1976), Tyson D. King-Meadows 351 Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. (1912–1989), Lisa Pruitt 361 John Hemphill (1803–1862), Susan Coleman 370 A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. (1928–1998), David Schultz 377 Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935), William D. Pederson 383 James E. Horton Jr. (1878–1973), Virginia L. Vile 391 viii contents Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948), Mark Byrnes 400 Sarah Tilghman Hughes (1896–1985), James W. Riddlesperger Jr. 407 Frank M. Johnson Jr. (1918–1999), Michael J. Gerhardt 415 William Wayne Justice (1920– ), Anthony Champagne 424 James Kent (1763–1847), Herbert A. Johnson 433 Alex Kozinski (1950– ), Mitch Sollenberger 442 v olume two Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1866–1944), Christopher Whaley 449 Harold Leventhal (1915–1979), Melanie K. Morris 457 Hans A. Linde (1924– ), John David Rausch Jr. 463 Robert R. Livingston Jr. (1746–1813), Robb A. McDaniel 471 Joseph Henry Lumpkin (1799–1867), Paul DeForest Hicks 479 John Marshall (1755–1835), Herbert A. Johnson 487 Thomas Alexander Marshall (1794–1871), Sara L. Zeigler 497 François-Xavier Martin (1762–1846), Michael S. Martin 502 Carl Eugene McGowan (1911–1987), Myra Norman 511 Harold R. Medina (1888–1990), J. Woodford Howard Jr. 519 Abner J. Mikva (1926– ), John David Rausch Jr. 530 William Mitchell (1832–1900), Kathleen Uradnik 537 Lewis Morris (1671–1746), Andrew G. Braniff 547 Constance Baker Motley (1921– ), John R. Vile 556 Alfred P. Murrah (1904–1975), Douglas Clouatre 563 Isaac C. Parker (1838–1896), Lorien Foote 571 John Johnson Parker (1885–1958), Peter G. Fish 583 Theophilus Parsons (1750–1813), Sara L. Zeigler 596 Edmund Pendleton (1721–1803), W. Hamilton Bryson 602 Milton Pollack (1906– ), Kathleen Uradnik 607 Richard A. Posner (1939– ), Ronald Kahn 615 contents ix Cuthbert Winfred Pound (1864–1935), Dean Alfange Jr. 629 William H. Rehnquist (1924– ), Derek H. Davis 639 Richard Rives (1895–1982), Douglas Clouatre 649 Spencer Roane (1762–1822), Douglas Clouatre 655 Thomas Ruffin (1787–1870), John R. Vile 662 Edward George Ryan (1810–1880), Kevin Collins 668 Walter Vincent Schaefer (1904–1986), Brannon P. Denning 677 Samuel Seabury (1873–1958), Tim Hurley 683 Samuel Sewall (1652–1730), Carol Loar 689 George Sharswood (1810–1883), Kevin Collins 696 Lemuel Shaw (1781–1861), Kermit L. Hall 704 John Joseph Sirica (1904–1992), Cornell Clayton 712 George Washington Stone (1811–1894), Ellen Barrier Garrison 720 Harlan Fiske Stone (1872–1946), Peter G. Renstrom 726 Joseph Story (1779–1845), Michael W. McConnell 733 Roger Brooke Taney (1777–1864), Norman B. Ferris 741 Roger John Traynor (1900–1983), Jennifer Harrison 753 St. George Tucker (1752–1827), Otis H. Stephens 760 Elbert Parr Tuttle (1897–1996), Brandi Snow Bozarth 768 Arthur T. Vanderbilt (1888–1957), G. Alan Tarr 775 J. Waties Waring (1880–1968), Tinsley E. Yarbrough 783 Earl Warren (1891–1974), Paul J. Weber 790 Jack B. Weinstein (1921– ), Kathleen Uradnik 800 J. Harvie Wilkinson III (1944– ), Barbara A. Perry and Henry J. Abraham 807 John Minor Wisdom (1905–1999), David Schultz 814 James Skelly Wright (1911–1988), Kenneth M. Holland 821 Jonathan Jasper Wright (1840–1885), Susan Coleman 828 George Wythe (1726–1806), Robert W. Smith 835 Charles E. Wyzanski Jr. (1906–1986), Kathleen Uradnik 841 x contents Appendix A: Great American Judges Listed by Year of Birth 851 Appendix B: Great American Judges Listed by Century 853 Appendix C: Great American Judges Listed by Birth Year, Years of Life, Nation or State of Birth, Colleges Attended, and Courts over Which They Presided 855 Appendix D: United States Supreme Court Justices Listed by Name, Years of Life, Nation or State of Birth, Education, Years of Prior Judicial Service, and Years of Service on the Court 867 How Well Do You Know Your Great American Judges? 875 Selected Bibliography 887 About the Editor and Contributors 919 Index 927 contents xi Sidebars Georgia Bullock and the Los Angeles Women’s Court, 4 Annette Abbott Adams (1877–1956), 16 Esther McQuigg Morris (1814–1902), 19 William Paul Moss, 29 Kirvin Kade Leggett (1857–1926), 49 Joseph A. Peel: A Judge as Murderer, 51 W. E. “Bill” Richburg, 52 Clarence Thomas (1948– ), 58 Joseph R. Grodin (1930– ), 72 Howell Heflin (1921– ), 80 John L. Niblack, a Hoosier Judge, 88 Richard A. Hefner (1874–1971), 94 Antonin Scalia (1936– ), 118 Benjamin Barr Lindsey (1869–1943), 124 William Shaw Richardson (1919– ), 148 Emilio Miller Garza (1947– ), 158 “Golden Rule” Jones (1846?–1904), 164 Moses Hallett (1834–1913), 200 Sampson, Edith Spurlock (1901–1979), 216 Frank M. Coffin (1919– ), 224 William Henry Beatty (1838–1914), 249 David S. Terry (1823–1889), 252 Samuel H. Silbert (1883–1976), 261 Guido Calabresi (1932– ), 269 Penny J. White (1956– ), 306 xiii John C. Knox (1881–1966), 322 Sol Wachtler (1930– ), 326 Richard Reid (1838–1884), 334 West H. Humphreys (1806–1882), 347 Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993), 354 Alberto R. Gonzalez (1955– ), 375 Joe E. Brown Jr., 379 Sadie Lipner Shulman (1891–1998), 385 Jack Montgomery (1930–1994), 394 Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933– ), 410 Thomas Goode Jones (1844–1914), 420 Joseph Force Crater (1889–1930?), 437 Samuel A. Weiss (1902–1977), 454 Charles Z. Smith (1927– ), 466 Rufe McCombs (1918– ), 482 Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634), 492 Ellen Morphonious (1929– ), 508 Jose Alberto Cabranes (1940– ), 525 Robert Gollmar (1903–1987), 541 George Robertson (1790–1874), 544 Shirley Mount Hufstedler (1925– ), 558 Robert L. Williams (1868–1948), 566 The “Hanging Judge”— The Popular Image of Judge Isaac Parker, 577 George Jeffreys (c. 1645–1689), 580 Judge Robert Satter on the Differences between Trial and Appellate Judging, 588 Louis H. Pollack (1922– ), 610 John T. Noonan Jr. (1926– ), 618 Sandra Day O’Connor (1930– ), 646 George Lewis Ruffin (1834–1886), 666 Reah Mary Whitehead (1883–1972), 671 The Judge and Jury from Hell, 693 xiv sidebars Judy Sheindlin (1942– ), 718 Early United States Supreme Court Justices and Circuit-Riding Duties, 737 Kirby Benedict (1810–1874), 748 James Wickersham (1857–1939), 756 Bruce McMarion Wright (1918– ), 796 George Mason (1725–1792), 837 Burnita S. Matthews (1894–1988), 843 Joseph A. Wapner (1919– ), 849 sidebars xv Foreword “I do not think,” Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in the 1830s, “that any other nation in the world has organized judicial power in the same way as the Americans.” What caught Tocqueville’s eye was that at all three lev- els of American government, judges distributed through their decisions the costs, benefits, and rewards of the social system they supported.