Today in Supreme Court History: October 13, 1890

10/13/1890: Justice Samuel Miller dies.

Comments

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Justice Miller's origins were in Kentucky (like his colleague Justice Harlan) though he eventually went to Iowa, which was strongly anti-slavery (like him). He wrote the Slaughterhouse Cases, which logically upheld a slaughterhouse regulation, but went a bit too far regarding judicial restraint on the reach of the 14A.

He was a leading light on the Court for over twenty-five years.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Wrote more opinions than anyone else in Court history, IIRC -- more than 600, averaging 25 per year.

[Frank Drackman]

and Miller was a Physician who didn’t go to Law Screw-el, but taught himself (I like the guy already) didn’t support Slavery, but had a few, until he moved to Iowa, where they weren’t allowed, nominated July 16,1862, confirmed the same day, and sworn into Orifice 5 days later, and while he wrote more opinions than any other Surpreme, his handwriting was so bad, his clerks just wrote what they wanted, sort of like today.

Frank

[Malika]

"didn’t support Slavery, but had a few"

?

[wolfefan]

I remember when David Bernstein posted here more often reading a lot of debate about The Slaughterhouse Cases. He did a book on them, IIRC. It was a very different VC back then.

[Dan Schiavetta]

VC was better then. For one thing, no Josh. Secondly, no infestation of juvenile and hateful commenters. Fortunately one can mute them. To me the comments section these days is a series of grayed out boxes except for when an occasional grownup shows up.

[Malika]

Under the WaPo there was quite reasonable moderation. Providing free spaces for white supremacists and incels, as is the case now, is never a good idea. If you think about it, the comments section is one of the best arguments against EV's ideals.

[Mr. Bumble]

Funny coming from you.
EV had to ban your alter ego (Queenie) because of the Yo' Momma comments aimed at Drackman.

[Sarcastr0]

If true, that seems to support the point what unmoderated comments lead to.

It’s not like you’re an exemplar of civility and high-mindedness either.

[Mr. Bumble]

Dear Douchenozzle,
I never said I was.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Moore v. Terminal Railroad Ass’n of St. Louis, 358 U.S. 31 (decided October 13, 1958): Court, without opinion, reverses Missouri Supreme Court and upholds jury verdict that railroad company had share of negligence in accident where plaintiff, a baggage handler operating a “hand cart” (remember those in old movies?), was crushed against a train when another train backed into his wagon; Frankfurter dissents on “sole cause” doctrine; Whittaker holds himself together long enough to write a longer dissent, noting that collision happened only because plaintiff turned his cart the wrong way (no mention of whether the cart was damaged, which means plaintiff was white — remember the quicksand scene in “Blazing Saddles”?)

Ziang Sung Wan v. United States, 266 U.S. 1 (decided October 13, 1924): confession to murder was not made voluntarily and should have been excluded; rejects presumption that a confession is voluntary so long as not “induced by promise or threat” (this is of course pre-Miranda); defendant, already in ill health due to earlier bout with “Spanish flu”, had been held incommunicado and interrogated for 13 straight days and when prison doctor saw him had to be removed to “the Red Cross room”

[bernard11]

remember those in old movies?

“We dang near lost a hundred dollar handcart.”

[bernard11]

Moved