Today in Supreme Court History: July 21, 1824

7/21/1824: Justice Stanley Matthews's birthday.

Justice Stanley Matthews

Comments

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Hurtado v. California, 110 U.S. 516 (1884) is one of Justice Matthews most notable opinions.

It argues that the Grand Jury Clause was not incorporated (to use later language) into the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. This is still the law.

He defends this using extended legal analysis with discussion of legal history as was his wont. He included, again to use more modern language, a living constitution approach:

It is more consonant to the true philosophy of our historical legal institutions to say that the spirit of personal liberty and individual right which they embodied was preserved and developed by a progressive growth and wise adaptation to new circumstances and situations of the forms and processes found fit to give, from time to time, new expression and greater effect to modern ideas of self-government.

Justice Harlan dissenting, supporting complete incorporation:

"Due process of law," within the meaning of the national Constitution, does not import one thing with reference to the powers of the States and another with reference to the powers of the general government.

[He also supported incorporation of substantive liberties, including freedom of speech.]

[No One Of Consequence]

This post sems like a pretty good indication that Supreme Court History should take the summer off and resume on the first Monday of October.