Today in Supreme Court History: July 4, 1776

7/4/1776: Declaration of Independence is signed.

Stone Engraving of the Declaration of Independence

 

 

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

July 4 of 1776, of course, had nothing to do with the Supreme Court, which was provided for in 1787 and started functioning in 1789. There was no "supreme" federal court before then.

The Court (or rather, William O. Douglas as Circuit Justice) did decide one matter on July 4:

In re Lewis, 418 U.S. 1301 (decided July 4, 1974): stay of execution of San Francisco radio reporter who had given recordings (from the Weather Underground relative to a shootout with the police by the Symbionese Liberation Army) to the FBI but refused to deliver the originals; First Amendment implicated so defendant released from prison (called "Terminal Island", ha) pending decision on his appeal (the result of which is not reported, but the defendant, Will Lewis, lived a long life and retired in 2010)

Insofar as July 4 is associated with the Supreme Court, the most relevant inquiry is: which Justices most likely gorged themselves on that date? Who loaded down his plate (these are all men here) with the most ribs, hot dogs, fries, and twinkies while watching the fireworks?

I hereby introduce the William Howard Taft Hall of Weighty Jurisprudence, enshrining the Court's most accomplished overeaters. The founding inductees:

1. William Howard Taft

2. Samuel Chase (so heavy the sleigh he was on broke through the ice, in 1800)

3. David Davis (looks like he's about to give birth to quadruplets)

4. Nathan Clifford (unwise to be unfashionably clean shaven -- long beards hide things!)

5. Lucius Quintus Lamar II (looks like Mr. Creosote from "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life")

6. Henry Billings Brown (his gut was separate but certainly not equal)

7. Edward Douglass White (it was impossible to take a wide angle photo of that man)

8. John Marshall Harlan (the first one) (though he did look athletic; would have made a good lineman)

9. Thurgood Marshall (in law school I irritated my civil-rights-advocate black girlfriend by saying, "Someday tomato sauce from Thurgood Marshall's meatball hero might drop on something you wrote!")

10. Antonin Scalia (nearly 100 lbs. overweight -- yet he fathered 9 children -- must have required some kind of winch-like device)

Current contenders: Clarence Thomas, (possibly) Elaine Kagan

[Commenter_XY]

Ooooooooh captcrisis, the fat-shaming here is gonna offend. 🙂

(Your comments were funny AF)

Happy 4th!

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks
Happy 4th!

[DaivdBehar]

He is just shaming age. Cappie needs to disclose his current weight and that at 20.

That brings up the across the board superiority of young people. The ways their legs and weights are are superior, same is true of their brains.

That is why I am writing a book, Adult at 14. This another self serving lie of the vile and toxic lawyer profession, the real age of majority.

[Mr. Bumble]

So, you are saying that they were all men (and one woman) of substance?

[Dan Schiavetta]

And not afraid to throw their weight around.

[Frank Drackman]

Umm, SS's no Supermodel either, she's not only Fat, she's Fat and Ugly,
how Ugly? 2 guys broke into her home, she yelled "Rape!!!!" they yelled "No!!!!"
How Ugly? she stuck her head out a window, got arrested for "Mooning" she went to the Empire State Building , airplanes started attacking her and CT? he's so fat, when he gets his shoes shined, he has to take the guys word for it...

Frank "No Respect at all!"

[Cal Cetín]

I must acknowledge that your remarks were amusing.

[Dan Schiavetta]

This falls under “Give the Devil his due”.

[Jerry B.]

Apparently, paragraphs had not been invented in 1776.

[Dan Schiavetta]

For all that has been gained, something has been lost by not sitting for an hour or two by candlelight and perhaps an eyeglass, carefully going over such a document, the lack of paragraphing giving each word equal weight.

[BravoCharlieDelta]

We need another one, but instead of written to King George, it needs to be written to the Federals.

[Frank Drackman]

Wow! what a bunch of "Insurrectionists"!!!!!!
" Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. "

Did England have a "July 4th Committee" ? ?

Frank

[Bored Lawyer]

The Founding Fathers knew that if they failed, they would be hung as traitors.

[DaivdBehar]

BCD. The federals is the vile, toxic, thievin' lawyer profession. Their cappos need to be rounded up, tried for an hour, and executed.

[ah....Clem]

Declaration of Independence was not "signed" on July 4, 1776.

The Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence on July 2, and the final language of the document was approved on July 4. It was printed and distributed on July 4–5.

The actual signing occurred on August 2, 1776.

[Mr. Bumble]

There is one in every crowd.

[Frank Drackman]

"Born on the 2d of August" just doesn't sound as good

[Dan Schiavetta]

“May I remind you sir that we were at war. Members of Congress were scurrying in and out of town all summer long, and we affixed our signatures to Jefferson’s . . . hallowed document whenever we happened to be in town!”

https://youtu.be/DT0qNAYJQWU

Note: 1) signing this was admitting to treason, sentence of which was death by hanging. 2) The war was going badly at the time and by October Congress had fled because the British were overrunning Philadelphia.

[bernard11]

Happy Independence Day.

[bernard11]

oops.

[Dan Schiavetta]

George wanted to keep going but in 1782 the Rockingham Whigs won elections, took over Parliament, and pulled the plug.

If it was King vs. Parliament, Parliament always won. In England that had been true for 500 years and it was the model the Framers looked to when writing the Constitution.

[Mr. Bumble]

"The formation of this nation wasn’t perfect "...
As is the case with anything done by humans; the best we can do is to try harder to live up to the ideals expressed in the Declaration.

[Ed Grinberg]

The Left spends decades wrecking the country (because it loves it, of course). The Right notices, tries to reverse some of the damage. The Left: "They hate our country!"

[Mr. Bumble]

...as seen in the Pima county Democrat posting urging Dems to come and celebrate F the 4th of July.

[Sarcastr0]

I mean, this is a pretty hateful post about many of your fellow Americans.

[bernard11]

When was this golden age "the Left" wrecked over recent decades?