White Court (1910–1921)

White Court

Established 1910
Dissolved 1921
Country United States
Location Old Senate Chamber
Washington, D.C.
Number of positions 9

The White Court refers to the Supreme Court of the United States from 1910 to 1921, when Edward Douglass White served as Chief Justice of the United States. White succeeded Melville Fuller as Chief Justice after the latter's death, and White served as Chief Justice until his death, at which point William Howard Taft was nominated and confirmed as Taft's replacement. The White court was less conservative than the preceding Waite Court or the succeeding Taft Court, though conservatism remained a powerful force on the bench and the Lochner era continued.[1]

Membership

The White Court began in 1910 when President William Howard Taft appointed White to succeed Melville Fuller as Chief Justice. White was the first Associate Justice to ascend to the position of Chief Justice.[2] Earlier in 1910, Taft had appointed Horace Harmon Lurton and Charles Evans Hughes to the Supreme Court. In 1911, Taft Willis Van Devanter and Joseph Rucker Lamar to the court, filling vacancies that had arisen in 1910. The White Court thus began with the five Taft appointees and four veterans of the Fuller Court: John Marshall Harlan, Joseph McKenna, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and William R. Day. Harlan retired in 1911, and Taft appointed Mahlon Pitney to replace him. Lurton died in 1914, and President Woodrow Wilson appointed James Clark McReynolds to replace him. In 1916, Lamar died and Hughes resigned to accept the Republican nomination for president. Wilson appointed Louis Brandeis and John Hessin Clarke to replace them. The White Court ended with White's death in 1921; President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft as White's successor.

John Hessin Clarke Louis Brandeis James Clark McReynolds Mahlon Pitney Joseph Rucker Lamar Willis Van Devanter Charles Evans Hughes Horace Harmon Lurton William R. Day Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Joseph McKenna John Marshall Harlan Edward Douglass White

Chief Justice Associate Justice

Rulings of the Court

Judicial philosophy

Though the White Court continued to strike down some economic regulations and make conservative rulings, it was more open to such regulations than the other courts that preceded the New Deal.[1][3] The White Court issued several favorable rulings towards an expanded interpretation of the Commerce Clause and taxing powers, although Hammer stands as a notable exception.[3] The White Court also issued notable rulings in the wake of World War I, and the court generally ruled in favor of the government.[4] After the 1916 appointments, the court had three ideological wings: Holmes, Brandeis, and Clarke were the progressives, McKenna, White, Pitney, and Day were centrists, and McReynolds and Van Devanter were conservative.[1] Prior to his resignation, Hughes was often considered a progressive, while Lurton and Lamar did not serve long enough to develop strong ideological leanings.[5] Regardless of the ideological blocs, consensual norms and the high load of relatively mundane cases faced by the Supreme Court prior to the Judiciary Act of 1925 meant that many cases were decided unanimously.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Galloway, Jr., Russell Wl (1 January 1985). "The Taft Court (1921-29)". Santa Clara Law Review. 25 (1): 1–2. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  2. Currie, David P. (1985). "THE CONSTITUTION IN THE SUPREME COURT: 1910-1921". Duke Law Journal. 34 (6): 1111. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Shoemaker, Rebecca (2004). The White Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy. ABC-CLIO. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. White, 147
  5. Wood, Sandra L. (Summer 1998). "The Supreme Court, 1888-1940: An Empirical Overview" (PDF). Social Science History. 22 (2): 206–207. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  6. Wood, 204, 211-212
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