Today in Supreme Court History: April 27, 1822

4/27/1822: President Ulysses S. Grant's birthday. He would appoint four Justices to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Waite, Justice Strong, Justice Bradley, and Justice Hunt.

President Grant's appointees

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

AT & T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333, decided April 27, 2011: wiped out class actions by consumers, forcing them individually into arbitration due to preemption by federal law. Posted on (and celebrated by) Todd Zywicki here on the VC (back when it was a freestanding blog). A lot of contentious but eloquent and well-informed comments.

[John F. Carr]

I am surprised that Democrats didn't use their majority to significantly cut down on corporate arbitration demands. All they did is eliminate arbitration requirements related to sexy behavior in the workplace. Could it be that a few bank-heavy blue state Senators are still in the pockets of business?

[CJColucci]

You have to get to 60 these days.

[Dan Schiavetta]

If it’s something Democrats want, they have to get the votes of Senators representing 85% of the American people. Republicans don’t even need a majority.

[GKHoffman]

The matter of proportional representation in the Senate was considered and discarded more than 200 years ago. It is what it is because otherwise there would be no Constitution and probably no United States of America.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Unfortunately the slave states had to be bought off.

[Bob from Ohio]

Virginia, the leading slave state, wanted proportional representation in the Senate. Hence the "Virginia Plan". South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia supported this.

It was small northern states that wanted equal representation. Hence the "New Jersey Plan".

Learn some history rather than just playing the race card.

[Frank Drackman]

Appoints 4 Surpremes and none with a Vagina!!!! How Un-woke!!, next you'll tell me he owned a Slave, and fought a Black Dude named "Corn Pop"