List of United States Supreme Court Justices who also served in Congress
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Following is a list of people who have served in both the United States Congress and the United States Supreme Court. Six Justices were sitting members of the United States Senate at the time of their appointment,[1][2] while one was a sitting member of the House of Representatives.[3] Several others had previously served in the Senate, and many more had previously served in the House of Representatives. One Justice resigned from the Supreme Court to serve in the United States Senate.
Only one sitting Senator, George Edmund Badger, has been nominated unsuccessfully, by President Millard Fillmore in 1853.
Senators
Sitting senators
Officeholder | State | Began Senate service | Ended Senate service | Appointed by | Began Court service | Ended Court service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black, HugoHugo Black | Alabama | 1927 | 1937 | F.D. Roosevelt | 1937 | 1971 |
Burton, Harold HitzHarold Hitz Burton | Ohio | 1941 | 1945 | Truman | 1945 | 1958 |
Byrnes, James F.James F. Byrnes[4] | South Carolina | 1931 | 1941 | F.D. Roosevelt | 1941 | 1942 |
Ellsworth, OliverOliver Ellsworth | Connecticut | 1789 | 1796 | Washington | 1796 | 1800 |
White, Edward DouglassEdward Douglass White | Louisiana | 1891 | 1894 | Cleveland | 1894 | 1921 |
Woodbury, LeviLevi Woodbury | New Hampshire | 1825 1841 | 1831 1845 | Polk | 1845 | 1851 |
Former senators
Officeholder | State | Began Senate service | Ended Senate service | Appointed by | Began Court service | Ended Court service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jackson, Howell EdmundsHowell Edmunds Jackson | Tennessee | 1881 | 1886 | B. Harrison | 1893 | 1895 | Jackson was elevated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, to which he had been appointed as a sitting Senator by President Grover Cleveland. |
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (II)[4] | Mississippi | 1877 | 1885 | Cleveland | 1888 | 1893 | Lamar was Secretary of the Interior at the time of his appointment. |
Chase, Salmon P.Salmon P. Chase | Ohio | 1849 1861 | 1855 1861 | Lincoln | 1864 | 1873 | Chase was Secretary of the Treasury at the time of his appointment. |
Matthews, StanleyStanley Matthews | Ohio | 1877 | 1879 | Garfield | 1881 | 1889 | Matthews had been previously nominated to the Court by Rutherford B. Hayes, but was not confirmed. |
McKinley, JohnJohn McKinley[5] | Alabama | 1826 1837 | 1831 1837 | Van Buren | 1838 | 1852 | McKinley was nominated to the Supreme Court only months after resigning from the Senate. |
Minton, ShermanSherman Minton | Indiana | 1935 | 1941 | Truman | 1949 | 1956 | Minton was elevated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. |
Sutherland, GeorgeGeorge Sutherland[4] | Utah | 1905 | 1917 | Harding | 1922 | 1938 | Sutherland was in private practice at the time of his appointment. |
Paterson, WilliamWilliam Paterson | New Jersey | 1789 | 1790 | Washington | 1793 | 1806 | Paterson was Governor of New Jersey at the time of his appointment to the Court. |
Former justice
A small number of Justices have resigned from the Supreme Court to seek or hold other political offices, but only one Justice has resigned from the Court to serve in the United States Congress.
Officeholder | Appointed by | Began Court service | Ended Court service | State | Began Senate service | Ended Senate service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
David Davis | Lincoln | 1862 | 1877 | Illinois | 1877 | 1883 |
Representatives
Officeholder | District | Began congressional service | Ended congressional service | Appointed by | Began Court service | Ended Court service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baldwin, HenryHenry Baldwin | PA-14 | 1817 | 1822 | Jackson | 1830 | 1844 | Baldwin was not in public office at the time of his appointment. |
Barbour, Philip PendletonPhilip Pendleton Barbour | VA-11 | 1814 1827 | 1825 1830 | Jackson | 1836 | 1841 | Barbour was a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at the time of his appointment. |
Byrnes, James F.James F. Byrnes[4] | SC-2 | 1911 | 1925 | F.D.Roosevelt | 1941 | 1942 | Byrnes was a sitting senator at the time of his appointment. |
Clifford, NathanNathan Clifford | ME-1 | 1839 | 1843 | Buchanan | 1858 | 1881 | Clifford was not in public office at the time of his appointment. |
Duvall, GabrielGabriel Duvall | MD-2 | 1794 | 1796 | Madison | 1811 | 1835 | Duvall was First Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury at the time of his appointment. |
Lamar, Lucius Quintus CincinnatusLucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar[4] | MS-1 | 1857 1873 | 1860 1877 | Cleveland | 1888 | 1893 | Lamar was Secretary of the Interior at the time of his appointment. |
Marshall, JohnJohn Marshall | VA-13 | 1799 | 1800 | J. Adams | 1801 | 1835 | Marshall was named U.S. Secretary of State while serving his elected term in Congress, and was appointed to the Court from that office. |
McKenna, JosephJoseph McKenna | CA-3 | 1885 | 1891 | McKinley | 1898 | 1925 | McKenna was U.S. Attorney General at the time of his appointment. |
McKinley, JohnJohn McKinley[5] | AL-2 | 1833 | 1835 | Van Buren | 1838 | 1852 | McKinley was nominated to the Supreme Court several months after resigning from the United States Senate. |
McLean, JohnJohn McLean | OH-1 | 1813 | 1816 | Jackson | 1830 | 1861 | McLean was United States Postmaster General at the time of his appointment. |
Moody, William HenryWilliam Henry Moody | MA-6 | 1895 | 1902 | T. Roosevelt | 1906 | 1910 | Moody was U.S. Attorney General at the time of his appointment. |
Mahlon Pitney | NJ-4 | 1895 | 1899 | Taft | 1912 | 1922 | Pitney was not in public office at the time of his appointment. |
Joseph Story | MA-2 | 1808 | 1809 | Madison | 1812 | 1845 | Story was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives at the time of his appointment. |
William Strong | PA-9 | 1847 | 1851 | Grant | 1870 | 1880 | Strong was in private practice at the time of his appointment, having recently resigned from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. |
George Sutherland[4] | UT-1 | 1901 | 1903 | Harding | 1922 | 1938 | Sutherland was in private practice at the time of his appointment. |
Fred M. Vinson | KY-9 | 1924 1931 1933 | 1929 1933 1938 | Truman | 1946 | 1953 | Vinson was Secretary of the Treasury at the time of his appointment. |
James Moore Wayne | GA-AL | 1829 | 1835 | Jackson | 1835 | 1867 | Wayne is the only siting representative ever appointed to the Court. |
References
- ↑ O'Brien (2003). Storm Center. p. 46.
- ↑ U.S. Senate, Senators Who Served on the U.S. Supreme Court (accessed May 12, 2009).
- ↑ U.S. Congress, House Members Who Became Members of the U.S. Supreme Court (accessed May 12, 2009).
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Served in the House of Representatives before serving in the Senate.
- 1 2 Served in the Senate both before and after serving in the House of Representatives.
See also
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of persons who have served in all three branches of the United States federal government