John Hessin Clarke

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John Hessin Clarke

John Hessian Clarke (* 18th September 1857 in New Lisbon , Ohio ; †  22. March 1945 in San Diego , California ) was an American lawyer , who from 1916 to 1922 Judge at the Supreme Court of the United States was and unsuccessfully for the The United States joined the League of Nations . As a judge in the US Supreme Court, he often held liberal dissenting opinions and unsuccessfully advocated children's rights and working conditions in a number of significant decisions .

Life

Studied and worked as a lawyer

After attending New Lisbon High School , Clarke studied at Western Reserve College , where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (AB) in 1877 . After studying law ( Reading Law ) in his father's law firm , he was admitted to the bar in the state of Ohio in 1878 and then also practiced as a lawyer in New Lisbon. He completed a postgraduate course at Western Reserve College, which he also completed in 1880 with a Master of Arts (AM). During his studies he became a member of the secret academic association Delta Kappa Epsilon .

He then settled as a lawyer in Youngstown and also became a co-owner of the democratic daily newspaper The Vindicator, and between 1892 and 1897 trustee of the local public library . Clarke, who was involved in the Democratic Party, moved to Cleveland in 1896 , where he became a partner in the law firm Williamson and Cushing . He was also trustee of the Cleveland Public Library between 1903 and 1906.

Judges in the US District Court and the US Supreme Court

In 1914 he became a judge on the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and held that office until 1916. In 1916 he also earned a doctorate in law (LL.D.) from Western Reserve College.

On October 9, 1916, Clarke was appointed Associate Justice at the US Supreme Court by US President Woodrow Wilson, succeeding Charles Evans Hughes , who had resigned to stand against Wilson in the US presidential election on November 7, 1916 as a candidate To run Republican Party . Clarke held the office of Associate Justice until his resignation on September 18, 1922 and was then replaced by the former US Senator for Utah , George Sutherland .

During his nearly six years on the Supreme Court, Clarke contributed to the following key decisions:

  • In the Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the court ruled with a close 5 to 4 majority that the US Congress had no right to regulate working conditions under the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution and the Keating – Owen Act of 1916, which only affect the economy of a state and the Keating – Owen Act is unconstitutional in that regard . It covered the working conditions of children in a cotton mill in Charlotte , North Carolina and the regulation in the Keating-Owen Act regarding the marketing of products made by children under the age of 14. Clarke joined the minority opinion written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. The opinion of the court was only confirmed by the decision in the United States v. Darby Lumber Co. (1941) revised, according to which the US Congress could regulate working conditions based on the trade clause.
  • In the Abrams v. United States (1919), the court had to deal with the Espionage Act of 1917 and its restrictions on freedom of expression . In its reasoning, written by Clarke and approved with 7 to 2 judges 'votes, the court came to the conclusion that this law did not violate the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution and that the plaintiffs' criticism of the US entry into the First World War on March 6th. April 1917 was not justified by this amendment, as it intended a strike in the arms industry and a violent overthrow of the US government.
  • In the Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. (1922) again dealt with the working conditions of children. Clarke was the only judge to disagree with the US Supreme Court's decision that the Child Labor Tax Law of 1919 violated the Taxing and Spending Clause of the US Constitution because the US Congress through it established taxes unjustifiably restrict employers from employing children. The decision was made in 1953 by the judgment in the United States v. Kahriger outdated.

After leaving the Supreme Court, he unsuccessfully campaigned for the United States to join the League of Nations. Since the US Senate refused to ratify the Versailles Treaty , the United States was never a member of the League of Nations. This happened because the Senate felt that its authority was being neglected by Woodrow Wilson, who pushed forward the ratification of the statutes of the League of Nations without prior consultation with the Senate.

Clarke, who recently suffered from deafness and the effects of myocardial infarction and lived in the El Cortez Apartment Hotel in San Diego, was buried after his death in the Lisbon Cemetery in his native city.

Background literature

  • Hoyt Landon Warner: The Life of Mr. Justice Clarke: A Testament to the Power of Liberal Dissent in America. Western Reserve University Press, 1959.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Clarke, John Hessin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH New Lisbon , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH March 22, 1945
Place of death San Diego , California