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Henry Billings Brown (U.S. Supreme Court)

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Henry Billings Brown

Nonpartisan

Prior offices:

Supreme Court of the United States

Years in office: 1890 - 1906

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Years in office: 1875 - 1890

Education

Bachelor's

Yale, 1856

Law

Read law, 1860

Personal

Birthplace

Massachusetts

Henry Billings Brown (1836-1913) was an Associate Justice on theSupreme Court of the United States and a judge for theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He joined the Supreme Court in 1890 after a nomination from PresidentBenjamin Harrison. He retired from the Supreme Court onMay 28, 1906.

Brown joined theEastern District of Michigan in 1875 after a nomination from PresidentUlysses Grant. Before joining the court, Brown was a private practice attorney and lecturer in law in Michigan.^[1]

Brown was one of four justices nominated to the Supreme Court by President Harrison. Brown served duringThe Fuller Court.^[2] Brown passed away on September 4, 1913.

Education

Brown attended Yale Law School and Harvard Law School. He also studied law byreading law.^[1]

Professional career

1868-1871: Professor of medical jurisprudence, Detroit Medical College
1868-1875: Lecturer in law, University of Michigan
1868-1875: Attorney in private practice, Detroit, Michigan
1868: Judge,Wayne County Circuit Court
1863-1868: Assistant U.S. Attorney, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
1861-1863: Deputy U.S. Marshal, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
1860-1861: Attorney in private practice, Detroit, Michigan^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

Supreme Court

Justice Brown was nominated to the Supreme Court by PresidentBenjamin Harrison on December 23, 1890, to fill he seat vacated bySamuel Freeman Miller. He was confirmed by the Senate onDecember 29, 1890, and received commission that same day. He retired onMay 28, 1906.^[1] He was succeeded to this post byWilliam Henry Moody.

Eastern District of Michigan

Brown served on theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He was nominated by PresidentUlysses Grant on March 17, 1875, to fill the seat vacated byJohn Wesley Longyear. He was confirmed by the Senate onMarch 19, 1875, and received commission that same day. He served untilDecember 30, 1890, when he joined the Supreme Court.^[1] He was succeeded to this post byHenry Harrison Swan.

Noteworthy cases

Details
Author: Henry B. Brown Vote Count: 7-1 Majority Justices: Fuller, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham Minority Justice: Harlan I

Details

Author: Henry B. Brown

Vote Count: 7-1

Majority Justices: Fuller, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham

Minority Justice: Harlan I

Separate But Equal Stands (1896)

In 1892, Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which segregated carrier cars by race. On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, a light-skinned black man, sat in a "White" car, identifying himself as black in order to challenge the law. The thirty year-old Plessy was jailed for not sitting in the "Colored" car.^[3]With seven votes for Ferguson and one vote against, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory racial segregation was not in violation of theFourteenth Amendment. Despite never using the term "separate, but equal," the court's ruling established that principle as a means of justifying segregation.^[4]

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: John Wesley Longyear	Eastern District of Michigan 1875–1890 Seat #1	Succeeded by: Henry Harrison Swan
Preceded by: Samuel Freeman Miller	Supreme Court 1890–1906 Seat #5	Succeeded by: William Henry Moody