List of U.S. Supreme Court justices who also served in the U.S. Congress

Last updated

Since the Supreme Court of the United States was established in 1789, 114 persons have served on the court. Of these, several also served in the United States Congress, either before or after their tenure as a justice. Six were incumbent members of the Senate at the time of their appointment, [1] while one—James Moore Wayne—was an incumbent member of the House of Representatives. The others had previously served in the Senate or the House or both. Additionally, one justice—David Davis—resigned from the Supreme Court to serve in the Senate.

Contents

Senators

There have been 14 Supreme Court justices with prior service in the Senate, and one with subsequent Senate service. [2]

SenatorStateSenate serviceSupreme Court serviceI/FAppointing president
Hugo Black Alabama 1927–19371937–1971I Roosevelt, F. D.
Harold Hitz Burton Ohio 1941–19451945–1958I Truman
James F. Byrnes [lower-alpha 1] South Carolina 1931–19411941–1942I Roosevelt, F. D.
Oliver Ellsworth Connecticut 1789–17961796–1800I Washington
Edward Douglass White Louisiana 1891–18941894–1921I Cleveland
Levi Woodbury New Hampshire 1825–1831;
1841–1845		1845–1851I Polk
David Davis Illinois 1877–18831862–1877• [lower-alpha 2] Lincoln
Howell Edmunds Jackson Tennessee 1881–18861893–1895F Harrison, B.
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar [lower-alpha 1] Mississippi 1877–18851888–1893F Cleveland
Salmon P. Chase Ohio 1849–1855;
1861–1861		1864–1873F Lincoln
Stanley Matthews Ohio 1877–18791881–1889F Garfield
John McKinley [lower-alpha 1] Alabama 1826–1831;
1837–1837		1838–1852F Van Buren
Sherman Minton Indiana 1935–19411949–1956F Truman
George Sutherland [lower-alpha 1] Utah 1905–19171922–1938F Harding
William Paterson New Jersey 1789–17901793–1806F Washington

Representatives

There have been 17 Supreme Court justices with prior service in the House of Representatives. [3]

RepresentativeDistrictHouse serviceSupreme Court serviceI/FAppointing president
Henry Baldwin PA14 1817–18221830–1844F Jackson
Philip P. Barbour [lower-alpha 3] VA11 1814–1825;
1827–1830		1836–1841F Jackson
James F. Byrnes [lower-alpha 4] SC2 1911–19251941–1942F Roosevelt, F. D.
Nathan Clifford ME1 1839–18431858–1881F Buchanan
Gabriel Duvall MD2 1794–17961811–1835F Madison
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar [lower-alpha 4] MS1 1857–1860;
1873–1877		1888–1893F Cleveland
John Marshall VA13 1799–18001801–1835F Adams, J.
Joseph McKenna CA3 1885–18911898–1925F McKinley
John McKinley [lower-alpha 4] AL2 1833–18351838–1852F Van Buren
John McLean OH1 1813–18161830–1861F Jackson
William Henry Moody MA6 1895–19021906–1910F Roosevelt, T.
Mahlon Pitney NJ4 1895–18991912–1922F Taft
Joseph Story MA2 1808–18091812–1845F Madison
William Strong PA9 1847–18511870–1880F Grant
George Sutherland [lower-alpha 4] UT1 1901–19031922–1938F Harding
Fred M. Vinson KY9 1924–1929;
1931–1938		1946–1953F Truman
James Moore Wayne GA AL 1829–18351835–1867I Jackson

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Also served in the U.S. House of Representatives
  2. ↑ Became a senator after service on the Supreme Court; the only justice to resign from the Court to serve in the U.S. Congress
  3. ↑ Served as Speaker of the House during the 17th Congress (1821–23)
  4. 1 2 3 4 Also served in the U.S. Senate

See also

Related Research Articles

Article One of the United States Constitution Portion of the US Constitution regarding Congress

Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article One grants Congress various enumerated powers and the ability to pass laws "necessary and proper" to carry out those powers. Article One also establishes the procedures for passing a bill and places various limits on the powers of Congress and the states from abusing their powers.

Chief Justice of the United States Presiding judge of the United States Supreme Court

The chief justice of the United States is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants plenary power to the president of the United States to nominate, and with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, appoint "Judges of the supreme Court", who serve until they resign, retire, are impeached and convicted, or die. The existence of a chief justice is explicit in Article One, Section 3, Clause 6 which states that the chief justice shall preside on the impeachment trial of the president.

Federal government of the United States National government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a federal republic in North America, composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories and several island possessions. The federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the president and the federal courts, respectively. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court.

James F. Wilson American politician (1828-1895)

James Falconer "Jefferson Jim" Wilson was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a Republican U.S. Congressman from Iowa's 1st congressional district during the American Civil War, and later as a two-term U.S. Senator from Iowa. He was a pioneer in the advancement of federal protection for civil rights.

Dennis Chávez American politician

Dionisio "Dennis" Chávez was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1935, and in the United States Senate from 1935 to 1962. He was the first Hispanic to be elected to a full term in the US Senate and the first US Senator to be born in New Mexico, which was still a US territory at the time of his birth.

George W. Campbell American judge

George Washington Campbell was an American statesman who served as a U.S. Representative, Senator, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice, U.S. Ambassador to Russia and the 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury from February to October 1814.

Augustus Octavius Bacon Member of the U.S. Senate from Georgia

Augustus Octavius Bacon was a slave owner, Confederate soldier, segregationist, and U.S. politician. He served as a Democratic Party U.S. Senator from Georgia, and rose to the position of president pro tempore of the United States Senate. Controversy arose during the American Civil Rights Movement over a provision in his will that created a racially segregated park in his hometown of Macon, which led to two U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Impeachment in the United States Procedure of officially accusing a civil officer

Impeachment in the United States is the process by which a legislature's lower house brings charges against a civil federal officer, the vice president, or the president for misconduct alleged to have been committed. Impeachment may also occur at the state level if the state or commonwealth has provisions for it under its constitution. The federal House of Representatives can impeach a party with a simple majority of the House members present or such other criteria as the House adopts in accordance with Article One, Section 2, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution. Most state legislatures can impeach state officials, including the governor, in accordance with their respective state constitution.

Alabama Republican Party Alabama affiliate of the Republican Party

The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. The committee usually meets twice a year. As of the February 23, 2019 meeting in Birmingham, the committee is composed of 463 members. Most of the committee's members are elected in district elections across Alabama. The district members are elected in the Republican Primary once every four years, with the most recent election for the committee having been on June 5, 2018. The new committee takes office following the general election in November 2018. In addition, all 67 county GOP chairmen have automatic seats as voting members. The state chairman can appoint 10 members. Each county committee can appoint bonus members based on a formula that theoretically could add 312 seats, although that formula currently calls for only about 50 seats.

Attending Physician of the United States Congress Doctor

The Attending Physician of the United States Congress is the physician responsible for the medical welfare of the members of the United States Congress and the nine justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Saxbe fix, or salary rollback, is a mechanism by which the President of the United States, in appointing a current or former member of the United States Congress whose elected term has not yet expired, can avoid the restriction of the United States Constitution's Ineligibility Clause. That clause prohibits the President from appointing a current or former member of Congress to a civil office position that was created, or to a civil office position for which the pay or benefits were increased, during the term for which that member was elected until the term has expired. The rollback, first implemented by an Act of Congress in 1909, reverts the emoluments of the office to the amount they were when that member began his or her elected term.

The Ineligibility Clause is a provision in Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution that makes each incumbent member of Congress ineligible to hold an office established by the federal government during their tenure in Congress; it also bars officials in the federal government's executive and judicial branches from simultaneously serving in either the U.S. House or Senate. The purpose of the clause is twofold: first, to protect the separation of powers philosophy ; and second, to prevent Congress from conspiring to create offices or increase federal officials' salaries with the expectation that members of Congress would later be appointed to these posts.

David Davis (Supreme Court justice) United States Supreme Court justice

David Davis was a United States Senator from Illinois and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. He also served as Abraham Lincoln's campaign manager at the 1860 Republican National Convention, engineering Lincoln's successful nomination for President by that party.

George Sutherland American politician

George Alexander Sutherland was an English-born American jurist and politician. He served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court between 1922 and 1938. As a member of the Republican Party, he also represented Utah in both houses of Congress.

Nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States Political process

The nomination, confirmation, and appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States involves several steps set forth by the United States Constitution, which have been further refined and developed by decades of tradition. Candidates are nominated by the President of the United States and must face a series of hearings in which both the nominee and other witnesses make statements and answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which can vote to send the nomination to the full United States Senate. Confirmation by the Senate allows the President to formally appoint the candidate to the court. The Constitution does not set any qualifications for service as a Justice, thus the President may nominate any individual to serve on the Court.

2010 Ohio elections

The Ohio general elections, 2010 were held on November 2, 2010 throughout Ohio. Primary elections took place on May 4, 2010.

1890 and 1891 United States Senate elections Elections for the US Senate

The 1890 and 1891 United States Senate elections were elections in which the Republican Party lost four seats in the United States Senate, though still retaining a slim majority. That majority was increased, however, upon the admission of two more states with Republican senators.

References

  1. ↑ O'Brien, David M. (2003). Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics (6th ed.). W. W. Norton. p. 46. ISBN   0393978966.
  2. ↑ "Senators Who Served on the U.S. Supreme Court". Washington, D.C.: Secretary of the Senate. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ "House Members Who Became U.S. Supreme Court Justices". Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian and the Clerk of the House's Office of Art and Archives. Retrieved February 6, 2018.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.