 benjamin nathan cardozo (may 24, 1870 â july 9, 1938) was an american jurist who served on the new york court of appeals and later as an associate justice of the supreme court. cardozo is remembered for his significant influence on the development of american common law in the 20th century, in addition to his philosophy and vivid prose style. cardozo served on the supreme court six years, from 1932 until his death in 1938. many of his landmark decisions were delivered during his eighteen-year tenure on the new york court of appeals, the highest court of that state. ==life and career== cardozo was born in 1870 in new york city, the son of rebecca washington (nÃ©e nathan) and albert jacob cardozo. both cardozo's maternal grandparents, sara seixas and isaac mendes seixas nathan, and his paternal grandparents, ellen hart and michael h. cardozo, were sephardi jews of the portuguese jewish community, affiliated with manhattan's congregation shearith israel; their families emigrated from london, england before the american revolution. they were descended from jews who left the iberian peninsula for holland during the inquisition. cardozo family tradition held that their ancestors were marranos from portugal, although 
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