![]() ![]() The result was legal caprice, sometimes amounting to chaos. Yet he took to the court immediately, turning his sharp mind toward strengthening America's fragile legal order.Īmericans had inherited from their colonial past a deep distrust of judges as creatures of arbitrary royal power in reaction, newly independent states made them pawns of legislative whim. His appointment to the Supreme Court came almost by chance-Adams saw him as the last viable option, after previous appointees declined the nomination. He was a friend and admirer of George Washington, and a cousin and enemy of Thomas Jefferson. Marshall (1755-1835) was born in Northern Virginia and served as a captain during the Revolutionary War and then as a delegate to the Virginia state convention. ![]() John Marshall is award-winning and bestselling author Richard Brookhiser's definitive biography of America's longest-serving Chief Justice. After his passing, the Supreme Court of the United States would never be ignored again. ![]() Before John Marshall joined the Court, the judicial branch was viewed as the poor sister of the federal government, lacking in dignity and clout. In 1801, a 45-year-old Revolutionary War veteran and politician, slovenly, genial, brilliant, and persuasive, became the fourth chief justice of the United States, a post he would hold for a record thirty-four years. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |