George Shiras Jr.

George Shiras
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office
July 26, 1892 – February 23, 1903
Nominated by Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by Joseph Bradley
Succeeded by William Day
Personal details
Born (1832-01-26)January 26, 1832
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died August 2, 1924(1924-08-02) (aged 92)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Lillie Kennedy
Alma mater Yale University
Religion Presbyterianism

George Shiras Jr. (January 26, 1832 – August 2, 1924) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case. Shiras's only public service before he became a justice was as a federal elector in 1888, almost four years before his nomination in 1892.

Shiras was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania January 26, 1832. He attended Ohio University and graduated from Yale College, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1853.[1] He began law school at Yale Law School, but left before earning a law degree[2] He finished his training by reading law at a law office, then practiced law in Dubuque, Iowa from 1855 to 1858, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1858 to 1892. In Pittsburgh, he became a prominent corporate attorney, and he was noted for his honesty and pragmatism while representing some of the nation's industrial giants[3]

On July 19, 1892, Shiras was nominated by President Harrison to a Supreme Court seat vacated by Joseph P. Bradley. He was recommended for the post by his cousin, Secretary of State James G. Blaine. Shiras was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 26, 1892, and received his commission the same day.

Although Shiras sat on the Court for more than 10 years authoring 253 majority decisions and 14 dissents, he is noted for his votes on just two landmark cases, Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).[2] He sided with the majority in the 5-4 decision in Pollock to strike down the Income Tax Act of 1894 as unconstitutional. Some historians believe Shiras was the pivotal Justice who switched his vote, while other historians suspect that it was either Justice Horace Gray or Justice David Brewer.[2] Regardless, the ruling in Pollock led to the need for a constitutional amendment to impose a federal income tax, and in 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. Shiras also voted with the 7-1 majority in the case Plessy v. Ferguson, a case which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of separate but equal, and which was overruled in 1954.

Shiras retired from the bench on February 23, 1903, and remained in retirement until his death, in Pittsburgh, in 1924. His son, George Shiras III, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania.

Notes

  1. ↑ Supreme Court Justices Who Are Phi Beta Kappa Members, Phi Beta Kappa website, accessed Oct 4, 2009
  2. 1 2 3 George Shiras, HistoryCentral.com, accessed Oct 10, 2009
  3. ↑ George Shiras, Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, accessed Oct 10 2009

References

Legal offices
Preceded by
Joseph Bradley		 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1892–1903 		Succeeded by
William Day
 
Supreme Court of the United States
The Fuller Court
Chief Justice: Melville Weston Fuller (1888–1910)
1892–1893:
1893:
1894–1895:
1896–1897:
1898–1902:
1902–1903:
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