Willis Van Devanter | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Van Devanter,c. 1915 - 1920's | |
| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
| In office January 3, 1911 – June 2, 1937 | |
| Nominated by | William Howard Taft |
| Preceded by | Edward Douglass White |
| Succeeded by | Hugo Black |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | |
| In office February 4, 1903 – December 16, 1910 | |
| Nominated by | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Walter Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1859-04-17)April 17, 1859 Marion, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | February 8, 1941(1941-02-08) (aged 81) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Rock Creek Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Delice Burhans |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Cincinnati (LLB) |
| Signature |  |
Willis Van Devanter (April 17, 1859 – February 8, 1941) was an American lawyer who served as anassociate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1911 to 1937.[1] He was a staunchconservative and was regarded as a part of theFour Horsemen, the conservative bloc which dominated the Supreme Court during much of the 1930s.
Van Devanter was born inMarion, Indiana, to a family ofDutch Americans. He attended Indiana Asbury University (nowDePauw University) from 1875 to 1878 before earning aBachelor of Laws from theCincinnati Law School in 1881. He was a member of theBeta Theta Pifraternity and theKnights of Pythias.
In 1884, Van Devanter moved to theWyoming Territory where he became the city attorney ofCheyenne. He served on a commission to revise the statutes of Wyoming Territory in 1886, and as a member of theterritorial legislature in 1888.[2] He also served as an attorney to theWyoming Stock Growers Association during the1889–93Johnson County War, managing to strain the local courts' (and county's) budget and delay trials while his clients and their allies worked to make key witnesses and the gunman unavailable, as well as securing favorable press coverage from the state's most influential papers while threatening to sue the Johnson County paper for slander.[3]
He served as chief justice of theSupreme Court of Wyoming from 1889 to 1890,[2] then resumed his private law practice. TheUnion Pacific and other railroads were among his major clients.
In 1896 Van Devanter represented the state of Wyoming before the U.S. Supreme Court inWard v. Race Horse 163 U.S. 504 (1896). This involved a statepoaching charge for hunting out of season, and its purported conflict with an Indian treaty that allowed the activity. TheNative Americans won in the U.S.Federal District Court; the judgment was reversed on appeal to the Supreme Court by a 7–1 majority.[4][5][6]
From 1897 to 1903 Van Devanter served inWashington, D.C., as an assistant attorney general, working in theDepartment of Interior. He was also a professor atGeorge Washington University Law School from 1897 to 1903.
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On February 4, 1903, PresidentTheodore Roosevelt nominated Van Devanter to a newly created seat on theEighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on February 18, 1903, and received his commission the same day.[2]
On December 12, 1910, PresidentWilliam Howard Taftnominated Van Devanter as anassociate justice of the United States Supreme Court, to a seat vacated byEdward D. White.[2] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 15, 1910,[7] He wassworn into office on January 3, 1911.[1]
On the court, he made his mark in opinions onpublic lands,Indian questions,water rights,admiralty,jurisdiction, andcorporate law, but is best remembered for his opinions defending limited government in the 1920s and 1930s. He served for over twenty-five years,[8] and voted against theAgricultural Adjustment Administration (United States v. Butler), theNational Recovery Administration (Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States), federal regulation oflabor relations (National Labor Relations Board v. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp.), theRailway Pension Act (Railroad Retirement Board v. Alton Railroad),unemployment insurance (Steward Machine Co. v. Davis), and theminimum wage (West Coast Hotel v. Parrish). For his conservatism, he was known as one of theFour Horsemen, along withPierce Butler,James Clark McReynolds, andGeorge Sutherland; the four would dominate the Supreme Court for over two decades, until the early 1930s.[8] He wasantisemitic but less openly so than McReynolds, who refused to interact with or speak to eventual Jewish Supreme Court JusticesLouis Brandeis,Benjamin N. Cardozo, andFelix Frankfurter; Van Devanter's interactions with them were non-fractious. His opinion inUnited States v. Sandoval (1913) held that because the New Mexico Pueblos were "intellectually and morally inferior" and "easy victims to the evils and debasing influence of intoxicants" they were subject to restrictions on alcohol sales in Indian Country.[9] The decision has since been the basis for Pueblo self-government and protection of tribal lands.[10]
Van Devanter had chronic "pen paralysis",[11] and, as a result, he wrote fewer opinions than the other justices, averaging three a term during his last decade on the Court.[8] He rarely wrote on constitutional issues.[11] However, he was widely respected as an expert on judicial procedure. In December 1921, Chief Justice Taft appointed him, along with Justices McReynolds and Sutherland, to draw up a proposal that would amend the nation's Judicial code and which would define further the jurisdiction of the nation's circuit courts.
Known widely as "the Judges' Bill", it retained mandatory jurisdiction over cases that raised questions regarding federal jurisdiction. It called for the circuit courts of appeal to have appellate jurisdiction to review "by appeal or writ of error" final decisions in the district courts, as well as for the district courts for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico,China, the Virgin Islands and the Canal Zone. The circuit courts were also empowered to modify, enforce or set aside orders of theFederal Communications Commission, theInterstate Commerce Commission, theFederal Reserve Board and theFederal Trade Commission. The proposed bill further provided that "a final judgment or decree in any suit in the highest court of a state in which a decision in the suit could be had, where is drawn in question the validity of a treaty or statute of the United States may be reviewed by the Supreme Court on a writ of error." Lastly, cases involving final decrees which brought into question the validity of a wide range of Federal or state treaties would come to the Court by certiorari. Four justices would be required to vote affirmatively to accept petitions, which meant that the Court's agenda would now be enrolled by "judicial review." The Chief Justice, together with the three Justices, made repeated trips to Congress, and in 1925, after two years of debate, the new Code was passed.
Van Devanter's influence began to wane in the early 1930s with the departures of Chief Justice Taft and Justice Sanford and he ultimatelyretired from the Supreme Court on June 2, 1937,[1][2] after Congress voted full pay for justices over seventy who retired.[12] He acknowledged that he might have retired five years earlier due to illness, if not for his concern aboutNew Deal legislation, and that he depended upon his salary.[4] In 1932, five years prior to Van Devanter's retirement, Congress had halved Supreme Court pensions.[13] Congress had temporarily restored them to full pay in February 1933,[13] only to halve them again next month by theEconomy Act.[14] He was the last serving Supreme Court Justice appointed by President Taft. Van Devanter was replaced byHugo Black.[15]
After retirement, he lived on a 700 acres (280 ha) farm nearEllicott City, Maryland.[16][17] He also remained available to hear cases in the lower courts and presided over civil trials.[18]
At the turn of the century, Van Devanter purchased Pate Island in the Woods Bay area alongGeorgian Bay inOntario,Canada. There he enjoyed hunting and fishing.[19]
Van Devanter died inWashington, D.C., on February 8, 1941,[2] and is buried there inRock Creek Cemetery.[20] His personal and judicial papers are archived at the Manuscript Division of theLibrary of Congress.
Media related toWillis Van Devanter at Wikimedia Commons| Legal offices | ||
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| New seat | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit 1903–1910 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 1911–1937 | Succeeded by |
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