Greatest Former Supreme Court Justice

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Basically this poll asks who you believe is the greatest SCOTUS judge in history. I have not really established a rigid criteria, but strength of jurisprudence, and impartiality are some considerations that you can look towards when deciding. As for me, I would choose Justice William Douglas in a heart beat.

If "strength of jurisprudence" is used as a criteria, then John Marshall basically wins by default, because his opinion in Marbury v. Madison (1803) essentially *created* the power of judicial review for the Supreme Court.

Another candidate would be Earl Warren, as a series of opinions from his court in the 1950s (Brown v. Board of Education (1954) being the most famous) were instrumental in bringing about the end of the Jim Crow era.

However, the Supreme Court justice with the largest political impact would probably not be considered "great" (except, perhaps, by the KKK and other white supremacists). When Roger B. Taney decided the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) case, which upheld the constitutionality of slavery in the US, he provided a catalyst for the American Civil War.

Marshall paved the way for the Supreme Court as we know it today.

Earl Warren facilitated much social progress.

William O. Douglas was a character--but very effective.

Harlan Fiske Stone's cousin and former college roommate, Republican U.S. President Coolidge, appointed him to serve as the U.S. attorney general between 1924 and 1925, then as a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice between 1925 and 1941. Despite the cozy nepotism that existed between Stone and Coolidge, both Republicans, Stone joined the "Three Musketeers of the Supreme Court," its liberal faction. It was this ability to work with Court majorities that convinced U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to appoint Stone to serve as the U.S. Supreme Court chief justice between 1941 and 1946. Having worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations, Stone was able to avoid being seen as a partisan. Apart from his support for the U.S. policy of internment for those of Japanese ancestry through such decisions as Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943) and Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), his opinions have generally been recognized as "objective."

Stone and Coolidge were my cousins.

Calvin Coolidge was an interesting character. He reminds me, in some way, of Judge Souter. Both disdained ostentation, and lived a simple life. Coolidge got married; Souter never married.

I wonder if a bet was actually made as to whether Coolidge could say three words in one sitting. A person was picked to pose this exact question to Coolidge, who responded with "You lose."

John Marshall is the Babe Ruth of the SCOTUS.
2) Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
3) Louis Brandeis
4) Felix Frankfurter
5) Robert Jackson
6) Earl Warren
7) William Brennan
William Rehnquist


The Worst Justice: Roger Taney

Yeah...Roger Taney really had no sense of morals. Anybody who agreed with the Dred Scott Decision had no sense of morals. And he was a Chief Justice!