Judicial opinions

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

Creator(s)

Jorgensen, Jay, 1956-

Learned Hand sends Theodore Roosevelt that latest opinion regarding police power and highlights the judicial court is not at risk.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-15

Creator(s)

Hand, Learned, 1872-1961

Theodore Roosevelt writes to Governor B. B. Comer and tells him that his letter was in error over Roosevelt’s opinion on an injunction by Judge Jones. Although Comer believed that Roosevelt was “disappointed” in the ruling, Roosevelt recalls that he “approved of his course.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

On behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, his secretary thanks Dr. C. E. Bennett for sending him a copy of Judge Anidon’s remarks.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-21

Creator(s)

Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Mississippi Chief Justice Smith for sending him an opinion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt congratulates Alabama District Judge Hundley on his “fine opinion.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt informs Judge Cohen he cannot reopen cases that have been decided by the courts several times already, like that which Cohen mentioned in his last letter. Roosevelt has determined that James A. Jewell is a poor public servant.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Supreme Court Justice Moody has read the letter and article from William Allen White that President Roosevelt forwarded to him, and offers his thoughts on the matter. Moody writes on the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional. This power has to be exercised with caution as, contrary to prior doctrine, the courts are not infallible. While there are checks on the power of the legislative and executive branches, if the Supreme Court exceeds its authority there is little recourse to correct the errors. Moody discusses recent examples where the Supreme Court made explicit that its duty is not to comment on the justice or wisdom of pieces of legislation, but to enforce the law as it is written and determine how laws interact with the Constitution and other laws.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-03

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on the outcomes of several Supreme Court cases. The Court has ruled against the Roosevelt Administration in the employers’ liability cases. Bonaparte provides a summary of the judges’ opinions in the event that he wants to send a special message to Congress urging a passage of the law that the court would deem constitutional based on the case. The Court ruled against the administration in the Williamson case, but on grounds that allow it to be tried again. As expected, the Court overturned the conviction of Major Carrington, who was sentenced in the Philippines to 40 years. Bonaparte asks Roosevelt’s advice on waiting to take action on Christian Schuebel’s nomination as Senator Fulton has requested. Finally, Bonaparte writes that Tracy C. Becker will help with prosecutions in Oregon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-06

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

As requested by William Loeb, Judge Munger sent a report regarding the decision to decline granting an injunction in the Nebraska railroad case. He encloses his opinions and hopes they are what Loeb refers to.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-14

Creator(s)

Munger, Thomas C. (Thomas Charles), 1861-1941

A committee of American citizens from Anthony, Kansas, asks President Roosevelt to read Justice McKenna’s dissenting opinion in the Moyer-Haywood-Pettibone case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-08

Creator(s)

Unknown

Clifford Howard argues that attitude of labor organizations in regard to the the Charles H. Moyer, Big Bill Haywood, and George A. Pettibone murder trial is due to the Supreme Court’s practice of issuing divided opinions. Justice J. MicKenna’s dissenting opinion provides the basis for the claims labor agitators and anarchists make for interference.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-25

Creator(s)

Howard, Clifford, 1868-1942

Thomas Goode Jones requests that President Roosevelt reads Jones’s paper to the Alabama Bar Association regarding the power of the United States to punish mobs who take prisoners from officers of justice and murder them to prevent trial at court.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-08

Creator(s)

Jones, Thomas Goode, 1844-1914

William H. Moody forwards a completed opinion on the railroad rate question currently being debated in the United States Senate. Moody discusses possible candidates to replace a recently deceased judge.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-01

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

President Taft, as Solomon, holds a baby elephant labeled “G.O.P.” aloft in one hand and a large sword labeled “Party Cleaver” in the other. One man labeled “Stand-Patter” pleads for Solomon Taft to spare the elephant. Another man labeled “Insurgent” stands to the right looking concerned, but not pleading for mercy.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-11-29

Creator(s)

Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933