Judges--Selection and appointment

Theodore Roosevelt, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and the Supreme Court

Jay Jorgensen examines President Theodore Roosevelt’s decision to appoint Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court in 1902. Jorgensen recalls Roosevelt’s knowledge of the law informed by two years of study at Columbia University, and he examines his judicial philosophy which was influenced by his study of and admiration for Abraham Lincoln. Jorgensen notes that Holmes’s nomination was supported by Roosevelt’s friend Senator Henry Cabot Loge of Massachusetts, and he emphasizes that Holmes’s dissent in the Northern Securities anti-trust case angered Roosevelt who felt betrayed by Holmes’s opinion. Six photographs, including four of Holmes, illustrate the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2021

Presidential Snapshot (#39): Excerpt of a letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt explains to Senator Lodge why he is considering Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. of Massachusetts for a seat on the Supreme Court. Roosevelt cites his judicial experience and his willingness to act on behalf of those who are often overlooked in society. Roosevelt also comments on some former justices such as John Marshall and Roger Brooke Taney.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1902-07-10

Letter from William Barnes to William Loeb

William Barnes, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the New York Republican Party, is sorry to hear that there have been protests against the appointment of G. Howard Davison as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture. Judges Edgar M. Cullen and William E. Werner are the likely nominees for the New York Court of Appeals which will “shut out” John Thomas McDonough. Barnes would like President Roosevelt informed of this situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William K. Townsend

President Roosevelt expresses his happiness at being able to appoint Judge Townsend to a position.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-01-18

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft discusses appointments for four different offices, including the Secretary of Agriculture. He gives President Roosevelt his assessment of nominees.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-17

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft returns Eugene A. Philbin’s letter to President Roosevelt. Philbin had written to Roosevelt to recommend John Hefferman as a judge. Taft thinks he is too young for a judgeship but would like to see him in the Attorney General’s office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Timothy L. Woodruff

President Roosevelt tells Republican State Committee Chairman Woodruff that he hopes there will be support for judges Abel E. Blackmar and Luke D. Stapleton, who were appointed by Governor Charles Evans Hughes and represent both political parties. Roosevelt has scheduled Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield for Woodruff’s Saturday night meeting.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Gurney Cannon

President Roosevelt will wait until Speaker Cannon comes to Washington, D.C., before naming judges to serve in Oklahoma. Roosevelt will consider Cannon’s input but must pick the best possible judges.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Julius C. Burrows

President Roosevelt discusses a vacant judgeship in Michigan with Senator Burrows, and has asked Senator William Alden Smith his opinion on the matter as well.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frank B. Brandegee

President Roosevelt tells Senator Brandegee that it was his pleasure to appoint Walter Chadwick Noyes to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Having now met Noyes, the President believes he will make a good judge.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Walter Chadwick Noyes

President Roosevelt informs Walter Chadwick Noyes that his commission as judge will be sent within the next few days. Roosevelt also tells Noyes how much he enjoyed meeting and conversing with him, and notes that the title of a volume they discussed is Moral Overstrain, by George W. Alger.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt tells Attorney General Bonaparte that it is simply a matter of expediency whether or not someone should resign from a federal office when running for an elected position, and trusts Bonaparte’s judgement. The president also believes that New Mexico District Attorney William H. H. Llewellyn and his people are incorrect about Department of Justice agents Ormsby McHarg and Peyton Gordon willfully telling lies, and Roosevelt has received a number of letters confirming this belief. Roosevelt will discuss the Idaho land fraud case with Bonaparte when he sees him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-14

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt has received Attorney General Bonaparte’s telegram and has no objections to U.S. District Attorney for Wyoming Timothy F. Burke, but will let Bonaparte decide.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Twining Hadley

President Roosevelt encloses a copy of the letter from Charles Hopkins Clark regarding Judge Walter Chadwick Noyes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert Knox Smith

President Roosevelt agrees that Commissioner of the Bureau of Corporations Smith should write what he suggested to Senator Frank B. Brandegee regarding the appointment of Walter Chadwick Noyes to a judgeship, to avoid tension. Roosevelt asks Smith’s opinion on the enclosed letter from Arthur Twining Hadley, president of Yale University.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Twining Hadley

President Roosevelt has sent the letters regarding the nomination of Walter Chadwick Noyes from Arthur Twining Hadley, president of Yale University, to Commissioner of Corporations Herbert Knox Smith and Charles Hopkins Clark of the Hartford Courant. Roosevelt asks for clarification on Hadley’s statement about support for Noyes, as he has many prominent endorsements, including those of the Supreme Court Judges.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles S. Mellen

President Roosevelt tells Charles S. Mellen in confidence that he may appoint Judge Walter Chadwick Noyes for the circuit court judge position in Connecticut, even though he has a higher opinion of lawyer John K. Beach. Judges, Roosevelt believes, especially federal judges, should be “the judge for everyone.” They should be able to sympathize with the labor faction and capitalists alike. Unfortunately the judges in New York do not understand the labor side. Roosevelt hopes to meet Noyes soon and see if he holds these qualities.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Twining Hadley

President Roosevelt informs Yale University President Hadley that after consulting Commissioner of Corporations Herbert Knox Smith, he thinks it best not to appoint John K. Beach as judge of the 2nd Circuit Court. While Smith agrees with Hadley that Beach is a better candidate overall, the senators do not recommend him, and it would be in poor form to act contrary to them in this matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt relays to Senator Lodge that the objection to Judge William B. Sheppard is his successful handling of peonage cases. Roosevelt believes the charges against Sheppard by Horatio Bisbee are not serious, and occurred several years ago.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt instructs Attorney General Bonaparte to stop investigating the matter involving William B. Sheppard, and to fill out his appointment as the judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Roosevelt has directed Special Assistant Attorney General Ormsby McHarg to continue the prosecution in New Mexico. While Roosevelt feels that McHarg lacks the experience to handle the case, he understands that halting the prosecution would likely result in the statute of limitations coming into play. He hopes to send Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley to new Mexico to help take up the matter. Bonaparte should continue insisting on an immediate separate trial for Senator William Edgar Borah. The press continually attacks Roosevelt and Bonaparte.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-15