first Supreme Court. And Roosevelt, elected to four terms, had more opportunity—twelve years—to nominate justices.
Which presidents made no Supreme Court appointments?
Neither William Henry Harrison nor Zachary Taylor served as president long enough to be afforded the opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court justice. Harrison died in 1841, after only one month in office; Taylor died during his sixteenth month in office in 1850. Andrew Johnson, who served nearly a full term (1865–69), following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, also did not make a selection for the high court. The only full-term president who made no Supreme Court appointments was Jimmy Carter, who served from 1977 to 1981.
Which president served two full terms and made only one appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court?
James Monroe served eight years and appointed only Smith Thompson to the bench in 1823.
Which U.S. Supreme Court justice was former president of the United States?
William Howard Taft served as president of the United States from 1909 to 1913. In 1921—eight years after leaving office—he was nominated as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President Warren G. Harding.
What future U.S. president was offered a position on the U.S. Supreme Court?
John Quincy Adams was offered a position on the U.S. Supreme Court by then-President James Madison. Adams declined. He later served as secretary of state, president, and U.S. representative from Massachusetts, and also argued several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in his capacity as a distinguished lawyer. For example, he argued on behalf of a group of African men captured into slavery in the famous Amistad case in 1841, while he was still a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Have any presidents nominated justices of another political party to the U.S. Supreme Court?
Yes, but it is the exception rather than the rule. Seven Republican presidents nominated Democratic justices: Abraham Lincoln nominated Stephen Field; Benjamin Harrison nominated Howell E. Jackson; Warren G. Harding nominated Pierce Butler; Herbert Hoover nominated Benjamin Cardozo; William Howard Taft nominated Associate Justice Edward White to chief justice and also nominated Horace Lurton and Joseph R. Lamar; Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated William J. Brennan; and Richard Nixon nominated Lewis Powell. Two Democratic presidents nominated Republican justices: Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Harlan Fiske Stone; and Harry S. Truman nominated Harold H. Burton.
Which justices, who were recess appointments, actually served on the Court before the Senate voted on their confirmations?
Five justices served on the bench before Senate confirmation. They are: John Rutledge, Benjamin R. Curtis, Earl Warren, William Brennan, and Potter Stewart. Of these five, only Rutledge was not confirmed. There have been ten other justices who were recess appointments, but they did not take their seats until after confirmation. They are: Thomas Johnson, Bushrod Washington, Alfred Moore, Henry Brockholst Livingston, John McKinley, Levi Woodbury, David Davis, John Marshall Harlan, and Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Future president John Quincy Adams was offered a position as U.S. Supreme Court justice by President James Madison. Adams, shown here in 1843, went on to become secretary of state, president, and U.S. representative from Massachusetts. He also represented a group of Africans in the famous Amistad case in 1841. Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
William Rehnquist was one of two U.S. Supreme Court chief justices to preside over a presidential impeachment trial. Here, Rehnquist listens to testimony in the Senate chamber during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton on February 12, 1999. AP Images.
Which two Supreme Court chief justices presided over trials involving impeached presidents?
In 1868, Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase oversaw the trial in the U.S. Senate in which impeached president Andrew Johnson was acquitted, allowing him to remain as the nation’s embattled leader. In 1999, impeached president Bill Clinton, was likewise acquitted, following a trial presided over by Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
EDUCATION
Which U.S. Supreme Court justice graduated from college at age 14?
Justice John Archibald Campbell graduated from the University of Georgia at age 14. A child prodigy, he entered college at the age of 11. He served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1853 to 1861. He resigned his Court seat at the start of the Civil War and became the Confederate government’s assistant secretary of war. He eventually established a successful law practice in New Orleans and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the famous Slaughter House Cases in 1873. Samuel Blatchford also attended college as a youngster; he entered Columbia College when he was 14 and later graduated first in his class.
Which justice was the first to graduate from a law school?
Justice Benjamin Curtis graduated from Harvard Law School in 1832. He also earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1829.
Which five U.S. Supreme Court justices served as law school deans?
The five former law school deans were: Horace Lurton, Vanderbilt University School of Law; Harlan Fiske Stone, Columbia University Law School; William Howard Taft, the University of Cincinnati Law School; Owen Roberts, the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and Wiley Rutledge, the University of Iowa Law School.
Who is the only U.S. Supreme Court justice to teach law school while serving on the U.S. Supreme Court?
Justice Joseph Story taught at Harvard Law School beginning in 1829. He taught at Harvard while he served on the Court until 1845.
Which twentieth century U.S. Supreme Court justices never received a high school diploma?
Amazingly, Justice Charles Evans Whittaker, who served on the Court from 1957 to 1962, never graduated from high school or college. He obtained entrance to Kansas City Law School based on high test scores. Similarly, Justice James Francis Byrnes also never graduated from high school. He dropped out of school at age 14 to work as a law clerk.
Which justices who served entirely during the twentieth century never obtained a law degree?
Justice Robert Jackson, who served from 1941 to 1954, attended Albany Law School but did not graduate. He was admitted to the bar after attending only one year of law school. Justice Stanley Reed, who served from 1938 to 1957, studied law at both the University of Virginia and Columbia University, but did not graduate. He also studied international law at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Pierce Butler, who served from 1922 to 1939, did not attend law school. He learned the practice of law under a St. Paul law firm. George Sutherland, who served from 1922 to 1938, attended the University of Michigan Law School but did not graduate. John Hessin Clarke, who served from 1916 to 1922, did not attend law school, learning law from his father. Mahlon Pitney, who served from 1912 to 1922, did not graduate and also learned law from his father. Joseph Rucker Lamar, who served from 1911 to 1916, attended Washington and Lee University in 1877 but did not graduate. William Rufus Day, who served from 1903 to 1922, attended the University of Michigan law school but did not graduate. William Henry Moody, who served from 1906 to 1910, attended Harvard Law School in 1876–1877 but did not graduate.
Which justice left his high school after a fight?
Justice