Potter Stewart

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Potter Stewart

Potter Stewart (born January 23, 1915 in Jackson , Michigan , † December 7, 1985 in Hanover , New Hampshire ) was an American lawyer and from 1958 to July 1981 associate judge at the Supreme Court of the United States .

Live and act

Potter Stewart was born the only son of James G. Stewart and Harriet Loomis Potter. His father was a prominent member of the Republican Party , has held seven years the post of mayor in Cincinnati ( Ohio ) and was a judge at the Supreme Court of Ohio ( Supreme Court of Ohio ).

Private

In 1943 he married Mary Ann Bertels and linked the event with a ceremony at the Bruton Episcopal Church in Williamsburg ( Virginia ); his brother, Zeph Stewart (an initiate of the Skull & Bones order) was the best man ( best man: best man, who plays an essential role in organizing the wedding). Stewart was a founding member of the America First Committee , an isolationist movement that sought to prevent the United States from participating in World War II in 1940/41 . During the war, he then served as a US Marine Reservist (US Naval Reserve) on board oil tankers.

Education and professional career

After graduating from Hotchkiss School in 1933 , he studied at Yale University . In 1937 he graduated with a bachelor's degree and in 1941 with a master's degree in law. In 1937 he was also the fraternity Skull and Bones added. He also served as chairman of the student newspaper The Yale Daily News and was editor of the Yale Law Journal . During his time at Yale, he also joined the Phi Delta Phi Brotherhood . This organization lists some well-known personalities in its membership directory, such as Gerald Ford , Peter H. Dominick , Walter Lord , William Scranton , Sargent Shriver , Cyrus Vance and Byron White . The latter was his colleague on the Supreme Court. In a private employment relationship, he joined the private law firm Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP in Cincinnati and in 1959, at the age of 39 years, he was finally as a judge on the appeals court called the sixth district.

Appeal to the US Supreme Court

In 1958, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Stewart to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of retiring Justice Harold Hitz Burton . During his tenure at the Court of Justice, Stewart has always tended to be moderate. B. in approving the judgment in Furman v Georgia (1972) which overruled all death penalty laws ; likewise four years later, in the Gregg v Georgia case , which in the second instance upheld revised capital punishment legislation and was adopted by the majority of American states. Stewart disagreed with the Griswold v Connecticut ruling (1965) which overruled the legal ban on the sale of contraceptives based on the right to privacy , arguing that this right was not found in the 14th Amendment be. But he changed his mind and was the driving force behind the Roe v Wade (1973) ruling , which recognized the right to abortion under the right to privacy . Stewart wrote a declaration of consent in which he accepted the jurisprudence of the Griswold case .

Stewart may have become particularly well known to the general public through a quote, or a fragment from it, that fell in the Jacobellis v Ohio case (1964). Stewart wrote in his brief declaration of consent that "hard-core pornography" was difficult to define, but (freely translated) "I know you when I see you [...]".

Stewart remained on the court until he retired at the age of 66. He was succeeded by Sandra Day O'Connor , the first woman to stand on the Supreme Court .

retirement

After his retirement he appeared on various programs on public television, e.g. B in special episodes (e.g. with Fred W. Friendly ) that address issues about the United States Constitution .

Potter Stewart died of a heart attack on December 7, 1985, at the age of 70. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

literature

  • John J. Patrick, Richard M. Pious, Donald A. Ritchie: The Oxford Guide to the United States Government. Oxford University Press, New York 2001, ISBN 978-0-19-514273-0 , p. 609 (= Stewart, Potter: Associate Justice, 1958-81 ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Potter Stewart Jan. 23, 1915 - Dec. 7, 1985. Supreme Court of Ohio, March 23, 2011, accessed August 27, 2014 . (English)
  2. ↑ NOMINATION OF POTTER STEWART AS ASSOC. JUSTICE OF SUPREME COURT. Govtrack.us, March 23, 2011, accessed August 27, 2014 . (English)
  3. ↑ Al Kamen: Retired High Court Justice Potter Stewart Dies at 70th Washington Post, December 8, 1985, accessed August 27, 2014 . (English)
  4. ↑ Al Kamen: Retired High Court Justice Potter Stewart Dies at 70th Washington Post, December 8, 1985, accessed August 27, 2014 . (English)
  5. ↑ Ron Williams: Potter Stewart. Find a Grave , January 1, 2001, accessed August 27, 2014 . (English)
personal data
SURNAME Stewart, Potter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer, Supreme Court Justice
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Jackson , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH 7th December 1985
Place of death Hanover , New Hampshire