Supreme Court Trivia

[hank scorpio]

I thought this might be fitting with the Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings, so I will start.

In 1946, at the age of 73, Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone died of a cerebral hemorrhage that struck on the bench as he read his dissent in Girouard v. United States, 328 U.S. 61 (1946).

[hank scorpio]

Some background:

In a 5-3 decision, the Court relied on the historic notion of religious tolerance to allow the naturalization of people whose religious faiths prevent them from complying with all the terms of the oath of allegiance.

Girouard was a Canadian citizen who sought naturalization in the United States. He refused to pledge that he would bear arms for the military because it was contrary to the teachings of the Seventh Day Adventist Church of which he was a member. He was willing to serve in the military in a non-combat role, but his faith prevented him from engaging in combat.

http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.ed ... _giro.html

Do you think Girouard felt like he picked the right god that day? I think so.

[hank scorpio]

William Howard Taft became the only President to serve as Chief Justice, and thus is also the only former President to swear in subsequent Presidents, giving the oath of office to both Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929). He remains the only person to have led both the Executive and Judicial branches of the United States government.


Seated bottom row middle