The Handy Supreme Court Answer Book. David L Hudson
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(consisting of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont). Riding circuit refers to the fact that the judges would often have to log thousands of miles to attend courts in various states to hear different cases.
What early court justice served on the court for only a little more than one year because of circuit riding?
Justice Thomas Johnson, nominated by President George Washington in 1791, took office in November 1791 but did not last long because he detested the practice of riding circuit. Because of this onerous task, he resigned in February 1793. He has the distinction of serving the shortest time on the Court, writing only one opinion during his short time on the bench.
What federal law is perhaps Ellsworth’s greatest achievement?
Oliver Ellsworth was the principal draftsman of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the law that created the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal court system. Ellsworth served on the chair of the committee in charge of the bill and he wrote much of the bill by his own hand. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote in her 2003 book The Majesty of the Law: “The Judiciary Act stands as the single most important legislative enactment of the nation’s founding years.”
Thomas Johnson served only 15 months on the bench, the shortest time of any Supreme Court justice. Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
What other early Supreme Court justice participated in the writing of the Judiciary Act of 1789?
Justice William Paterson helped his Princeton classmate, Oliver Ellsworth, draft the Judiciary Act of 1789 when both served in the U.S. Senate. Paterson is perhaps best known in history for coming up with the New Jersey Plan, which would have provided for a one-house Congress, during the Philadelphia Convention.
Which Supreme Court justices attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia to create the U.S. Constitution?
Five future Supreme Court justices attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787: John Rutledge from South Carolina, Oliver Ellsworth from Connecticut, William Paterson from New Jersey, James Wilson from Pennsylvania, and John Blair from Virginia. They were among the fifty-five delegates attending the famous Philadelphia Convention who created the U.S. Constitution. Future justice Gabriel Duvall was chosen to be one of Maryland’s four delegates to the Convention but he, along with the other delegates from Maryland, never attended.
What famous documents did John Jay help write?
John Jay, along with future president James Madison and future Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, wrote the Federalist Papers, a series of essays designed to arouse public support for the new U.S. Constitution. Madison and Hamilton were the primary authors of the eighty-five-essay set; Jay wrote about five essays.
U.S. general and future first president George Washington presides over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
Which member of the early court served time in jail for his debts?
Associate Justice James Wilson, one of the most prominent figures at the Philadelphia Convention, served time in jail in Burlington, New Jersey, for not paying his debts. He was later jailed a second time. The money problems often prevented Wilson from fulfilling his judicial duties.
What early Supreme Court justice was related to President George Washington?
Justice Bushrod Washington was a nephew of President George Washington. Justice Washington’s father, John Augustine Washington, was the president’s brother. President John Adams nominated Bushrod Washington in December 1798. He served for thirty years until his death in 1829.
What was the initial salary of the Supreme Court justices?
Congress passed a law on September 23, 1789, called the Compensation Act, that provided for the salaries of federal officials. The associate justices received $4,000 per year, while the chief justice received $4,500 per year.
When did the Supreme Court initially meet?
The U.S. Supreme Court initially met in February 1790. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided that the Court would hold two sessions annually, beginning the first Mondays of February and August.
How many decisions did the U.S. Supreme Court make during its first three terms?
The Court heard no cases during its first three terms in February 1790, August 1790, and February 1791. There were no cases before the Court in those original terms and the justices handled administrative matters at the high court. Soon, though, the justices were busy with the burdens of riding circuit—serving in the lower federal circuit courts.
DECISIONS
What famous decision in the 1790s led to a constitutional amendment?
The Court decided 4–1 in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) that the state of Georgia could be sued by a South Carolina citizen. This decision caused great uproar and led to the Congressional passage of the Eleventh Amendment, which generally prohibits states from being hauled into court by individuals (at least for monetary damages).
The case arose because the state of Georgia did not pay for supplies to South Carolina merchant Robert Farquhar. The state refused to pay Farquhar because he was a Loyalist (loyal to England). Georgia made the legal argument that it was immune from suit because it was a state that could not be sued by a citizen of another state. After Farquhar died, the executor of his estate, Alexander Chisholm (who also was from South Carolina), then sued the state in federal court for nearly $70,000. Georgia, believing it had immunity from a suit by a South Carolina citizen, argued that the federal court did not have jurisdiction.
The Court ruled 4–1 that Georgia could be sued. The justices in the majority focused on the explicit language in Article III of the Constitution, which provides that “the judicial power of the United States shall extend to controversies between a state and citizens of another state.”
Congress adopted the Eleventh Amendment in 1795 and it was ratified in 1798. It provides: “The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.”
Who argued the case for Alexander Chisholm?
Remarkably, U.S. attorney general Edmund Randolph argued the case as a private attorney on behalf of Alexander Chisholm. In those days, government attorneys could supplement their income by taking private cases. Randolph was unopposed by the state of Georgia. The Supreme Court reporter, Alexander Dallas, submitted a written response from the state’s lawyers but no one personally appeared to argue on the state’s behalf.
CourtSpeak: Chisholm v. Georgia State vs. State Case (1793)
Chief Justice John Jay (majority): “If we attend to the words, we find them to be express, positive, free from ambiguity, and without room for such implied expressions: ‘The judicial power of the United States shall extend to controversies between a state and citizens of another state.’ If the Constitution really meant to extend these powers only to those controversies in which a State might be Plaintiff, to the exclusion of those in which citizens had demands against a State, it is inconceivable that it should have attempted to convey that meaning in words, not only so incompetent, but also repugnant to it; if it meant to