Today in Supreme Court History: November 28, 1872

11/28/1872: Justice Samuel Nelson resigns.

Justice Samuel Nelson

Comments

[JoeFromtheBronx]

His Accidency, John Tyler, whose grandson died not that long ago, hit paydirt after multiple failed attempts with a highly respected chief justice on the New York Supreme Court.

He wrote what might have been the restrained majority opinion in Dred Scott until there was a decision to go bigger. He also dissented in the Prize Cases during the Civil War.

(If John Campbell didn't go the sedition route -- which does not involve counselling people not to follow illegal orders -- that might have been the majority opinion.)

Nelson died in Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He also deserves some sort of facial hair reward.