Posted
on January 28, 2017
Louis
Brandeis was brilliant. He was passionate about the law and about the
betterment of individuals and American society. He was incorruptible.
(Incorruptible
means that nobody could influence him with power, money, or other
bribes.)
Of
course he would make a great justice of the Supreme Court, right?
Then
why-oh-why did so many conservative Republicans fight against
Brandeis's 1916 nomination to the Supreme Court?
Was
it because the president who nominated him, Woodrow Wilson, was a
Democrat?
A
big part of the problem many had with Brandeis was because he was a
crusader for social justice – and that often pitted him against
monopolies, big corporations, the wealthy and the powerful. Brandeis
devoted so much time to public causes and social justice he was
called “the People's Lawyer,” and he was even described as “a
Robin Hood of the law.”
Of
course, we know that standing up against unfair practices is a good
thing – even if, actually ESPECIALLY if, the people being unfair
are wealthy and powerful.
Still,
a lot of politicians are themselves wealthy and powerful, and almost
all politicians are influenced by the wealthy and powerful, so
Republicans as a group fought against Brandeis because he made a
habit of standing up to the wealthy and powerful.
Another
big part of the problem many people had with Brandeis was that he was
a Jew. Antisemitism (bigotry toward Jewish people) had been a problem
in America for centuries, although thankfully it has decreased since
World War II and the Civil Rights Movement, in the middle of the
1900s. (I will point out, however, that so far there has never been a
Jewish president or vice-president in the United States. There has
never even been a Jewish major party candidate for president, and the
only candidate for VP was Joe Lieberman in 2000.)
Thank
goodness, Brandeis did end up getting confirmed as a Supreme Court
Justice. He weighed in on many free-speech issues and
right-to-privacy issues. His written opinions on those two topics, in
particular, are considered some of the greatest defenses ever written
by a member of the Supreme Court.
Here
are a few interesting facts about Louis Brandeis:
- His parents immigrated from Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic.
- Brandeis graduated from Harvard Law School at age 20 – with the highest grade average in the law school's history.
- The law firm he founded in Boston still practices today. Its name is now Nutter McClennen & Fish – Nutter for short – which is a bit surprising to me. If I wanted a lawyer, I think I would not want to choose Mr. Nutter, would you? Maybe not even Mr. Fish... But the law firm has one of the highest reputations in the state and nation.
- Although Brandeis was the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, he was far from the last. Starting with the 1932 appointment of Benjamin Cardozo, there have been seven other Jewish justices on SCOTUS, including three current justices! (All but one of these were nominated by Democrats.)
- Brandeis is widely considered a pioneer in pro bono work, helping to create the concept that is now prevalent in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. Pro bono means “for the public good,” and it is used to refer to professional work done without payment. The American Bar Association has an ethics rule that suggests that every lawyer in the U.S. contribute at least fifty hours of pro bono service every year.
Here are a few wonderful quotes from Louis Brandeis:
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