Evening star., 1937-04-11
Ages of Supreme Court
Justices.
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN,

Supreme Court. The court was author
lied in 1789 and in the period of nearly
a century and a halt since there have
been only 78 different members of the
high court, or only about twice as many
as there have been Presidents of the
United States. In view of the fact that
there have been not less than six mem
bers of the court and only one President
at time with some Presidents serving
eight years, the fact that there is no
greater disparity may seem surprising.
That is accounted for by the fact that
so many of the justices have served such
long terms. Being appointed for life,
their terms save in a natural sense when
death intervenes, are endless, whereas
no President has ever served more than
eight years.
When the first Supreme Court was
appointed, the average age of the JUS
tices was just under so years. 1t was
not until 36 years later, in 1925, that
the average was at 60. Since then, with
two exceptions-one in the 1905 and
again in 1846-the average age of any
sitting court has never again fallen
below go years.
Of the total of 78 justices, more than
half of them have remained on the
bench to the age of 70 or more Forty
of them have attained this age while
in service. Eight of them have served
to 80 or more 1t was in 1885 that the
average age for the first time reached
10 years, SO here we find that over the
history of the court from the first the
average had been increased 20 years,
rising from so to 10.
OF the 78 justices, about half were
appointed before the Civil War and had
an average age at the time of appoint
ment of 49l2 years. The half appointed
since the Civil War show an average.
at the time of appointment, of about
56h years. Average age at time of ap-
pointment and average age of sitting
court are two different things. For
example, man appointed at so or 55
years will find men who had been ap-
pointed at the same age but some years
before, so this raises the average of all
members of sitting court.
1t may seem to many that a curious
Transformation has taken place in the
attitude of some persons toward the
Supreme Court. With the Nation itself
grown older, there has appeared
proposal emanating from the highest
political sources that younger men
should be named to the high court On
this point there is wide difference of
opinion. 1t may be borne in mind that
one of the oldest tribal traditions of
mankind has been the wisdom of the
Old Man. In early times. the Old Man
always became the head of the tribe,
and that practice obtains to this day in
primitive groups. Zeus and Jehovah
have always been depicted as men so
old as to be ageless Years have been
presumed to bring wisdom. especially in
the matter of judging between dis
putants The words of Scion and Socra-
tes attained their greatest weight when
they had reached great ages.
The youngest man ever to be named
to the Supreme Court of the United
States was Joseph Story. Born at
Marblehead, Mass. in 1779 and gradu-
ating from Harvard, he was elected a
Representative in Congress He returned
to serve as speaker of the State Legisla-
ture of Massachusetts,. but soon was ap-
pointed to the Supreme Court He then
was just past 30 While today there
are not a few young men in positions
of responsibility. the appointment Of
so youthful man to the grave position
of associate justice of the highest court
in the land was sufficiently remarkable.
He furnishes an example of how the
average age of an entire bench is con-
stantly affected by age at appointment
and length of service. 1t is obvious that,
at the time, he must have pulled down
the average age of the court then sitting
materially. But against that must be
set the fact that he had one of the
longest terms of any justice, so when, in
later years, others were named he then
was bringing the average up He served
period just eight days short of "a
years. However, with that great length
of service he was not nearly so old
about 66 at the time of his death-as
many justices have been at the close
of their service.
Justice Story is regarded as one Of
the greatest members of the Supreme
Court. He was an able supporter of
Chief Justice Marshall's doctrine of
latitudinarianism in Interpretation of the
law-the Constitution-and it is said
that Marshall and Story have probably
given the Nation much OF it's real Con-
stitution through their opinions on the
intent of Congress. The Supreme Court
was not as busy in those days as now it
is, and throughout Mr.. Story's service
on the bench he also was Dane profess
Sor of law at Harvard, where his lee
lures unquestionably instructed and in
f1uenced many budding lawyers after
ward to take part both in framing and
interpreting the law. After these many
years, STORY on the Constitution" with
other of his works, including his court
opinions, are studied in the schools and
constantly cited by jurists and lawyers.
Next to Mr.. Story as a young mem
ber stands William johnson of Charles
ton, S. c. He was born in It'll and
read law in the office of Charles Cotes-
worth Pinckney. He sat in the State
Legislature and then was appointed a
judge of the South Carolina Court of
Common Pleas. In 1904 President JET
ferson appointed him an associate Jus
tice of the Supreme Court. He then
was 80 years and months of age. He
came into collision with Jefferson on
political doctrines, although he had been
his adherent. But he was a stickler for
the law and would not bow to political
pressure. He opposed the President on
the legality of the embargo act which
afterWard proved so disastrous to the
United States. So unpopular did he be-
come in his own State that he was forced
to leave it, living in Pennsylvania and
New York. This experience furnishes
an excellent example of what life tenure
Tn cfoit n II