Today in Supreme Court History: September 30, 1857

9/30/1857: Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis resigns from the Supreme Court after Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).

Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis

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[Frank Drackman]

Some nuggets about Judge Curtis
- First Surpreme to graduate from Law Screw-el (Hah-Vud of course)
- Defended President Andrew Johnson at his Impeachment Trial in 1868
- Was in the running to be Chief Surpreme when it became available in 1874 but passed over by President Grant
-Resigned in part due to having to "Ride the Circuit" and the low pay ($6,500, My inflation calculator only goes back to 1913, $6,500 1913 translates to $212,000 today, current Surpremes make about $300K)

Frank

[F.D. Wolf]

Curtis was lead defense counsel in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. After Curtis' death in 1874, Attorney General George Henry Williams, who had been a Senator during the trial, eulogized him in an address to the Supreme Court:

I can only speak of Judge Curtis as a lawyer; and those who knew him in that capacity will not, I am sure, charge me with exaggeration in saying that all that has been said of the ablest and best of our profession may with fitness be applied to him. I was a member of the High Court of Impeachment when the President of the United States was put upon his trial before that body, and had therefore an excellent opportunity to see and hear the deceased, who was the leading counsel for the defense in that case. The late Chief-Justice presided. Senators and representatives occupied the floor of the Senate, and distinguished people from all parts of the world filled its galleries. The political pulses of the nation throbbed with intense anxiety. The scene was thrilling and historic.

When the prosecutors had submitted their evidence in support of the articles of impeachment, Judge Curtis followed with a statement of the respondent's defense. I was greatly impressed with his presence. When he arose to speak, he seemed to be the personification of solidity and strength. Added to his striking features and form, he had a peculiarly firm and broad way of standing while he spoke, which seemed to express an inflexible determination not to be moved from his position. He was not excited or embarrassed. He commenced with the composure of conscious power. He presented the facts and points of the case in such a comprehensive, compact and logical manner as to make the speech a model of forensic discussion. Brougham or Burke would have displayed upon that occasion a wealth of imagery and illustration, but the language of Judge Curtis was as pure and chaste as the lectures of Blackstone.

George Henry Williams, Ex-Justice Benjamin R. Curtis, in, Occasional Addresses 120, 120-21 (1895).

Alas, Williams' admiration of Curtis' arguments had gone only so far, as he voted to convict Johnson on all three counts considered by the Senate. (The House had submitted eleven articles of impeachment against Johnson, though the Senate only voted on three of them before adjourning the trial. The vote on every count was 35-19, one vote shy of the two-thirds necessary for a conviction.)

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Dave Barry, in his classic book on American history, summarized the highlights of the Fillmore Administration:

The Earth did not crash into the Sun.

Ah. Even Homer nodded. Barry forgot that President Fillmore nominated Benjamin Robbins Curtis to the Supreme Court. Daniel Webster recommended him.

Curtis had a few notable opinions in his short tenure, including his famous dissent. A suitable position for a student of Joseph Story.*

Curtis kept busy after resigning, having an active practice, marrying three times, and having twelve children. Well, that also happened before and during his SCOTUS term. Still. Busy.

The bad feelings arising from Dred Scott were not the only reason he resigned. He also knew he would obtain much more money in private practice. He was the son of Lois Robbins and Benjamin Curtis, which explains each of his three names.

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* Curtis also studied under John Hooker Ashmun, whom Louis Brandeis later praised as "a man of extraordinary legal acumen."

https://www.greenbag.org/v11n4/v11n4_brandeis.pdf