Owen Roberts
Owen Josephus Roberts (* 2. May 1875 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; † 17th May 1955 in West Vincent , Pennsylvania) was an American lawyer , who both judges at the Supreme Court of the United States ( US Supreme Court ) and Dean of the Law Faculty of the University of Pennsylvania was.
Life
Lawyer and Public Prosecutor
After attending Germantown Academy, he studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1895 . A subsequent study of law at the local law school he completed in 1898 and also became a member of the academic association Phi Beta Kappa . After his subsequent admission as a lawyer , he first practiced law and then from 1901 to 1904 Assistant Attorney of Philadelphia County. After completing this activity, he was a lawyer in the law firm White & White until 1912 , before he founded the law firm Roberts & Montgomery with partners in 1912 and practiced in it for the next few years.
In 1923 he was appointed Republican special investigator by US President Calvin Coolidge to investigate the Teapot Dome scandal , which involved the granting of oil development rights. His investigations led to the indictment being brought against Albert B. Fall , the Home Secretary under President Warren G. Harding , who was eventually sentenced to imprisonment for corruption.
US Supreme Court judge
On June 2, 1930, Roberts, who was also a member of the American Philosophical Society, was appointed by US President Herbert Hoover to succeed Edward Terry Sanford as an associate judge at the US Supreme Court . He was actually considered a solution to embarrassment, as the candidate favored by Hoover for the office of Chief Justice , John Johnston Parker , lacked the necessary approval in the US Senate by one vote. He held the office of Associate Justice for more than 15 years until his resignation on July 31, 1945.
Roberts was recently the only judge who was not appointed by Hoover's successor Franklin D. Roosevelt and for many years formed the " tip of the scales " alongside Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes , as the judges James C. McReynolds , George Sutherland , Pierce Butler and Willis Van Devanter as the so-called " Four Horsemen " formed the conservative wing, while the judges Louis Brandeis , Benjamin N. Cardozo and Harlan Fiske Stone as the "Three Musketeers" represented more liberal views. His changing views led to the saying "Switch in Time that Saved the Nine", as his timely change led to the securing of the decisions of the nine judges of the Supreme Court.
One of the most important decisions in which he was involved was the decision on the so-called " fruits of the poisoned tree " in the Nardone v. United States from 1939. This landmark judgment established an extended prohibition on the use of illegally obtained evidence in US law .
Roberts was also chairman of a commission to investigate the circumstances and facts of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In 1943 he headed a commission again called Roberts Commission for the protection of monuments in the acts of war.
After his resignation as a judge and his replacement by Harold Hitz Burton , he became a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was last dean of the local law school from 1948 to 1951. Roberts was buried in Saint Andrews Cemetery in West Vincent after his death .
literature
- Charles A. Leonard: A Search for a Judicial Philosophy: Mr. Justice Roberts and the Constitutional Revolution of 1937 , Kennikat Press, 1971
Web links
- Owen Roberts in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges
- Owen Roberts in nndb (English)
- Owen Roberts in the database of Find a Grave (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Roberts, Owen |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Roberts, Owen Josephus (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American lawyer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 2, 1875 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Philadelphia , Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th May 1955 |
| Place of death | West Vincent , Pennsylvania |