The Hughes Court

SCOTUS
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Judgeships
	Posts: 9
	Judges: 9
Judges
	Chief: John Roberts
	Active: Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas

The Hughes Court lasted from February 1930 until June 1941, during the presidencies of Herbert Hoover (R) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (D).

Charles E. Hughes was nominated as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President Hoover on February 3, 1930. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 13, 1930, and received her judicial commission on the same day. Hughes took over as Chief Justice after the death of former President and Chief Justice William H. Taft.^[1]^[2] Hughes the eleventh Chief Justice in the history of the Supreme Court. On June 30, 1941, he stepped down from the position and assumed senior status.^[3]

About Chief Justice Charles Hughes

Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Hughes was the Governor of New York from 1907 to 1910. He spent the majority of his legal career in private practice in New York City.^[1]

Associate justices

The justices in this table served on the Hughes Court.

Tenure	Justice	Nominated By
1902-1932	Oliver Wendell Holmes	Theodore Roosevelt
1911-1937	Willis Van Devanter	William Howard Taft
1914-1941	James Clark McReynolds	Woodrow Wilson
1916-1939	Louis Brandeis	Woodrow Wilson
1922-1938	George Sutherland	Warren Harding
1923-1930	Edward Terry Sanford	Warren Harding
1923-1939	Pierce Butler	Warren Harding
1930-1945	Owen Josephus Roberts	Herbert Hoover
1932-1938	Benjamin Nathan Cardozo	Herbert Hoover
1937-1971	Hugo Black	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1938-1957	Stanley Reed	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1939-1962	Felix Frankfurter	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1939-1975	William Douglas	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1940-1949	Frank Murphy	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1941-1942	James Byrnes	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1941-1946	Harlan Fiske Stone	Calvin Coolidge

Major cases

Louisville Joint Stock Land Bank v. Radford: Details
Author: :Louis Brandeis Vote Count: 9-0 Majority Justices: Hughes, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Butler, Stone, Roberts, Cordoza

Louisville Joint Stock Land Bank v. Radford (1935)

On June 28, 1934, the Frazier-Lemke Act was passed by Congress. The Supreme Court found that the Act allowed others "to take valuable rights in specific property from one person and give them to another, in violation of the Constitution." The Court declared the Act to be in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The justices agreed that the bank had the right to collect what was due.^[4]^[5]

Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan (1935)

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D) issued Executive Order 6199 via the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), prohibiting petroleum transport in interstate and foreign commerce if the amount produced exceeded state limits. Oil refinery operator Panama Refining Co. sought to halt the regulations. In an 8-1 ruling, the court held that the order was unconstitutional.^[6]

A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States: Details
Author: Charles E. Hughes Vote Count: 9-0 Majority Justices: Hughes, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Brandeis, Sutherland, Butler, Stone, Roberts, Cordozo

A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States (1935)

Under Section 3 of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the president could control wages, weekly employment hours, and the age of employees via penal codes. The question brought before the Supreme Court was whether this power should actually be legislative power. In a unanimous decision on May 27, 1935, the court determined that the power was unconstitutional and was not an acceptable delegation of legislative power.^[7]

West Coast Hotel Company v. Parrish: Details
Author: Charles E. Hughes Vote Count: 5-4 Majority Justices: Hughes, Brandeis, Stone, Roberts, Cardozo Minority Justices: Sutherland, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Butler

West Coast Hotel Company v. Parrish (1937)

In 1932, Washington State set a legal minimum wage of $14.50 for each workweek of 48 hours. West Coast Hotel Company employee Elsie Parrish received less than that and filed suit to recover the difference in her actual earnings and her statutory earnings. In a 5-4 ruling, the court held that the establishment of minimum wages for women was constitutional.^[8]

National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation: Details
Author: Charles E. Hughes Vote Count: 5-4 Majority Justices: Brandeis, Stone, Roberts, Cardozo Minority Justices: Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Butler

National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937)

Because Congress decided that labor disputes were an issue of interstate commerce with the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, Congress determined it had the power to regulate these disputes. As a result, Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. was charged by the National Labor Relations Board for discriminating against union laborers. To determine if the Act was in line with the Commerce Clause, the Supreme Court was asked to hear the case. On April 12, 1937, the Court decided that the dispute did fall under the Commerce Clause and that companies could not discriminate against employees for exercising their right to unionize. Part of the Act called for the workers' ability to bargain, which the Court saw as a necessary function in maintaining interstate commerce.^[9]

Steward Machine Company v. Collector of Internal Revenue (1937)

The Social Security Act of 1935 imposed a federal tax on employers' payroll. If an employer paid this tax towards a state employment compensation fund, it would be credited to their federal payments. The Steward Machine Company challenged the act, alleging that it violated the Fifth Amendment. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the act, concluding that the tax was constitutional and that Congress was within its power to enforce it. The court stated that the tax would benefit the general welfare.^[10]

About the court

See also: Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the country and leads the judicial branch of the federal government. It is often referred to by the acronym SCOTUS.^[11]

The Supreme Court consists of nine justices: the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices. The justices are nominated by the president and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the United States Senate per Article II of the United States Constitution. As federal judges, the justices serve during "good behavior," which means that justices have tenure for life unless they are removed by impeachment and subsequent conviction.^[12]

The Supreme Court is the only court established by the United States Constitution (in Article III); all other federal courts are created by Congress.

The Supreme Court meets in Washington, D.C., in the United States Supreme Court building. The Supreme Court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions in mid-June.^[12]

Number of seats on the Supreme Court over time

See also: History of the Supreme Court

Number of Justices	Set by	Change
Chief Justice + 5 Associate Justices	Judiciary Act of 1789
Chief Justice + 4 Associate Justices	Judiciary Act of 1801 (later repealed)	-1
Chief Justice + 6 Associate Justices	Seventh Circuit Act of 1807	+2
Chief Justice + 8 Associate Justices	Eighth and Ninth Circuits Act of 1837	+2
Chief Justice + 9 Associate Justices	Tenth Circuit Act of 1863	+1
Chief Justice + 6 Associate Justices	Judicial Circuits Act of 1866	-3
Chief Justice + 8 Associate Justices	Judiciary Act of 1869	+2