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Justice O’Connor, A Personal Reminiscence: “You Mean Sheroes?”
I had the great privilege and pleasure, twice, to interview Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on stage at a conference on women and leadership...
HumanitiesND
Dec 7, 20234 min read
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James Iredell: Not Hamilton, but Well- Qualified for Supreme Court
Unlike Alexander Hamilton, a more famous Founding Father who wrote extensively about the proposed Constitution and championed its...
HumanitiesND
Dec 6, 20234 min read
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Justice Douglas Went East, But Appointed to Court as a Westerner
President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to nominate William O. Douglas to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by the...
HumanitiesND
Nov 21, 20234 min read
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Justice William O. Douglas: Horatio Alger of the Supreme Court
William O. Douglas, the longest serving Supreme Court Justice in American history (1939-1975), whose outsized life on and off the bench...
HumanitiesND
Nov 16, 20233 min read
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Justice Van Devanter of Wyoming: A “Mainstay” on the Court
The odds were against Willis Van Devanter ever winning an appointment to the Supreme Court. Widespread talk that he suffered from “pen...
HumanitiesND
Nov 9, 20234 min read
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Hughes Returns and Preserves the Court Amidst a Great Storm
When President Herbert Hoover in 1930 nominated Charles Evans Hughes to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, an unprecedented second...
HumanitiesND
Nov 3, 20234 min read
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Charles Evans Hughes: Appointed Twice to the Supreme Court
Charles Evans Hughes, one of the great names in America’s judicial history, remains the only person twice appointed to the U.S. Supreme...
HumanitiesND
Oct 26, 20234 min read
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Taft: The Court Should Preserve Framers’ Governmental Structure
The U.S. Supreme Court is a law court, of course, but it is primarily a political institution that guides the destiny of the nation. Its...
HumanitiesND
Oct 18, 20234 min read
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Chief Justice Taft: Presidency Okay, Supreme Court Heavenly
William Howard Taft, the only man to serve as President of the United States and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, once observed that...
HumanitiesND
Oct 16, 20234 min read
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Brandeis: Free Speech Critical to Preservation of Democracy
In response to previous columns about the appointment, importance and influence of Justice Louis Brandeis, an enthusiastic reader has...
HumanitiesND
Oct 16, 20234 min read
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Brandeis: A Great Justice and the Right to be let Alone
Louis Brandeis, known by the nation at the time of his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court as “The People’s Lawyer,” and years later...
HumanitiesND
Oct 16, 20234 min read
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Justice Louis D. Brandeis: “The People’s Attorney”
By the time President Woodrow Wilson nominated him for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1916, Louis Brandeis, the nation’s first...
HumanitiesND
Oct 16, 20234 min read
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Chief Justice Marshall: Unpretentious, Modest and Humble
Those Americans in the early years of the republic who idolized the elegant, regal and graceful bearing of English judges, could be...
HumanitiesND
Aug 18, 20234 min read
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John Marshall: The Great Chief Justice Transforms the Court
Two centuries after his service to the United States as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, virtually no one doubts John Marshall’s...
HumanitiesND
Aug 18, 20234 min read
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Justice James Wilson: Leading Constitutional Architect
It was altogether fitting that James Wilson, second in importance only to James Madison as an architect of the Constitution, would be...
HumanitiesND
Aug 18, 20234 min read
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John Jay: First Chief Justice, Diplomat, Founding Era Giant
When the newly elected President George Washington turned his attention to the historic opportunity of nominating citizens to fill seats...
HumanitiesND
Aug 18, 20234 min read
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Judicial Profiles to Better Understand the Supreme Court
We citizens know a lot about our presidents—their background, philosophy and character—and sometimes more than we care to know. The same...
HumanitiesND
Aug 18, 20234 min read
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Trump Trial Tests the Framers’ Constitution and the Rule of Law
“What are the implications of the trial of Donald Trump for the Constitution, presidential power and the rule of law?” a reader asks,...
HumanitiesND
Jun 22, 20234 min read
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Reader Asks: How Do We Rein in Supreme Court Justices?
A reader recently wrote to ask a question on the minds of many Americans: “If the courts check the other branches of government, who...
HumanitiesND
Jun 1, 20234 min read
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Is Posting of Ten Commandments in Schools Constitutional?
The continued revival of interest among state legislatures in posting the Ten Commandments in public schools may present to the U.S....
HumanitiesND
Jun 1, 20234 min read
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