Duquesne Law Review
Abstract
From 1801 until 1835 the first Justice Marshall served a distinguished tenure as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Legal scholars, political scientists, historians and even high school civics teachers recognize his tremendous contribution to the development of American Government and to the definition of the relationship between the Court, the Executive, and the Legislative branches' of government. No one man has done more to establish the Court as an institution or to provide the foundation of American Constitutional law. Since the first Justice Marshall's tenure there have been great Justices: Black; Frankfurter; Brandeis; Hughes; Harlan; Holmes; Cardozo; etc. The greatness of these men stems primarily from their able service on the Court. But for a few their greatness resulted, in part, from their contributions to law before ascending to the High Court. Some in this category served on lower appellate courts, while others were outstanding practitioners of law. And of course there was Frankfurter-the Harvard Law Professor. All these men, and others not mentioned, in some way left the mark of their thoughts and ideas on the Constitution. Since the first Justice Marshall, however, no man has left a more indelible mark on the Constitution itself and on the development of Constitutional law than the second Justice Marshall. As chief counsel for the NAACP for approximately 25 years and as Solicitor General of the United States he has been in a unique position to influence the Court's interpretation of the Constitution, and thereby the development of Constitutional law.
First Page
44
Recommended Citation
Ronald R. Davenport,
The Second Justice Marshall,
7
Duq. L. Rev.
44
(1968).
Available at:
https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol7/iss1/13