Presidents and the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Taft
William Howard Taft was not only the 27th President of the United States, but he was also the 10th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the job that many people say he wanted all along. He is the only person thus far to hold both offices.
The law was a significant part of Taft's life. In 1887, he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati. Three years later, in 1890, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him Solicitor General of the United States. At age 32, he was the youngest person ever to hold the office of Solicitor General. The following year Taft was appointed to be a judge of the newly created United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1891 and was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1892. Concurrently with this judgeship, Taft also served as the first dean and a professor of constitutional law at the University of Cincinnati from 1896 to 1900.
As President, Taft appointed six justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: Horace Harmon Lurton in 1909, Charles Evans Hughes in 1910, Edward Douglass White as Chief Justice in 1910, Willis Van Devanter and Joseph Rucker Lamar in 1911 and Mahlon Pitney in 1912. These are most appointments to the court by any President except for George Washington (who appointed all six justices to the first Court), Andrew Jackson (who served two terms as President) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (who was President for just over twelve years). Besides his Supreme Court appointments, Taft appointed 13 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 38 judges to the United States district courts.
Chief Justice Edward Douglass White died in 1921 and on June 30, 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated Taft to succeed White. Taft had once remarked, "there is nothing I would have loved more than being chief justice of the United States" and he was happy to receive the nomination. There was little opposition to Taft's nomination, and the Senate approved him 60-4 in a session held on the day of his nomination. The roll call of the vote has never been made public. Taft took the oath of office on July 11, and served as Chief Justice until 1930, retiring for health reasons. He is the only President to serve as Chief Justice, and the only former President to swear in subsequent Presidents. He administered the oath of office to both Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929).
Taft enjoyed his years on the court and was respected by his fellow Justices. Justice Felix Frankfurter once remarked to Justice Louis Brandeis that it was "difficult for me to understand why a man who is so good a Chief Justice could have been so bad as President." Taft said that he considered his time as Chief Justice to be the high point of his career. He once remarked "I do not remember that I was ever President".
In 1922, Taft traveled to England to study the procedural structure of the English courts and to learn how they dropped such a large number of cases quickly. During the trip, King George V and Queen Mary received Taft and his wife as state visitors. When he returned home, Taft pressed for the introduction and passage of the Judiciary Act of 1925, which changed the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction to be largely discretionary upon review of litigants' petitioning to be granted an appeal. This allowed the Supreme Court to hear only appeals that they believed to be cases of national importance and allowed the Court to work more efficiently. Besides giving the Supreme Court more control over its docket, the legislation also gave the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice general supervisory power over the scattered and disorganized federal courts. It also brought the courts of the District of Columbia and of the Territories (and soon, the Commonwealths of the Philippines and Puerto Rico) into the federal court system. This united the courts for the first time as an independent third branch of government under the administrative supervision of the Chief Justice. Taft was also the first Justice to employ two full-time law clerks to assist him.
In 1929, Taft successfully argued in favor of the construction of a separate and spacious Supreme Court building. He argued that the Supreme Court needed to distance itself from the Congress as a separate branch of the federal government. Until then, the Court had heard cases in the Old Senate Chamber of the Capitol. The Justices had no private chambers there, and their conferences were held in a room in the Capitol's basement. The Supreme Court building was completed in 1935, five years after Taft's death. It remains the home of the Supreme Court to this day.
As Chief Justice, Taft wrote the court's opinion in 253 decisions, about one-sixth of the cases heard during his term as Chief. Legal scholars characterize Taft's decisions as conservative and constraining of government. For example, in Truax v. Corrigan Taft struck down the provision of the Clayton Anti-Trust Act which barred injunctions against labor picketing. He wrote that even peaceful picketing may violate the Fourteenth Amendment in depriving business owners of their property without the due process of law. His majority opinion in Myers v. United States invalidated tenure of office acts which limited the power of the President to remove subordinates, in this case postmasters.
Taft retired as Chief Justice on February 3, 1930, because of ill health. Charles Evans Hughes, whom he had appointed as an Associate Justice while President, succeeded him as Chief Justice. Five weeks following his retirement, Taft died on March 8, 1930, from cardiovascular disease.
The law was a significant part of Taft's life. In 1887, he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati. Three years later, in 1890, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him Solicitor General of the United States. At age 32, he was the youngest person ever to hold the office of Solicitor General. The following year Taft was appointed to be a judge of the newly created United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1891 and was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1892. Concurrently with this judgeship, Taft also served as the first dean and a professor of constitutional law at the University of Cincinnati from 1896 to 1900.
As President, Taft appointed six justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: Horace Harmon Lurton in 1909, Charles Evans Hughes in 1910, Edward Douglass White as Chief Justice in 1910, Willis Van Devanter and Joseph Rucker Lamar in 1911 and Mahlon Pitney in 1912. These are most appointments to the court by any President except for George Washington (who appointed all six justices to the first Court), Andrew Jackson (who served two terms as President) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (who was President for just over twelve years). Besides his Supreme Court appointments, Taft appointed 13 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 38 judges to the United States district courts.
Chief Justice Edward Douglass White died in 1921 and on June 30, 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated Taft to succeed White. Taft had once remarked, "there is nothing I would have loved more than being chief justice of the United States" and he was happy to receive the nomination. There was little opposition to Taft's nomination, and the Senate approved him 60-4 in a session held on the day of his nomination. The roll call of the vote has never been made public. Taft took the oath of office on July 11, and served as Chief Justice until 1930, retiring for health reasons. He is the only President to serve as Chief Justice, and the only former President to swear in subsequent Presidents. He administered the oath of office to both Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929).
Taft enjoyed his years on the court and was respected by his fellow Justices. Justice Felix Frankfurter once remarked to Justice Louis Brandeis that it was "difficult for me to understand why a man who is so good a Chief Justice could have been so bad as President." Taft said that he considered his time as Chief Justice to be the high point of his career. He once remarked "I do not remember that I was ever President".
In 1922, Taft traveled to England to study the procedural structure of the English courts and to learn how they dropped such a large number of cases quickly. During the trip, King George V and Queen Mary received Taft and his wife as state visitors. When he returned home, Taft pressed for the introduction and passage of the Judiciary Act of 1925, which changed the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction to be largely discretionary upon review of litigants' petitioning to be granted an appeal. This allowed the Supreme Court to hear only appeals that they believed to be cases of national importance and allowed the Court to work more efficiently. Besides giving the Supreme Court more control over its docket, the legislation also gave the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice general supervisory power over the scattered and disorganized federal courts. It also brought the courts of the District of Columbia and of the Territories (and soon, the Commonwealths of the Philippines and Puerto Rico) into the federal court system. This united the courts for the first time as an independent third branch of government under the administrative supervision of the Chief Justice. Taft was also the first Justice to employ two full-time law clerks to assist him.
In 1929, Taft successfully argued in favor of the construction of a separate and spacious Supreme Court building. He argued that the Supreme Court needed to distance itself from the Congress as a separate branch of the federal government. Until then, the Court had heard cases in the Old Senate Chamber of the Capitol. The Justices had no private chambers there, and their conferences were held in a room in the Capitol's basement. The Supreme Court building was completed in 1935, five years after Taft's death. It remains the home of the Supreme Court to this day.
As Chief Justice, Taft wrote the court's opinion in 253 decisions, about one-sixth of the cases heard during his term as Chief. Legal scholars characterize Taft's decisions as conservative and constraining of government. For example, in Truax v. Corrigan Taft struck down the provision of the Clayton Anti-Trust Act which barred injunctions against labor picketing. He wrote that even peaceful picketing may violate the Fourteenth Amendment in depriving business owners of their property without the due process of law. His majority opinion in Myers v. United States invalidated tenure of office acts which limited the power of the President to remove subordinates, in this case postmasters.
Taft retired as Chief Justice on February 3, 1930, because of ill health. Charles Evans Hughes, whom he had appointed as an Associate Justice while President, succeeded him as Chief Justice. Five weeks following his retirement, Taft died on March 8, 1930, from cardiovascular disease.